I apologize about the blurry face photos, but these people make a living going undercover, so we have to protect their identity. Let’s face it, without their help, our intrepid team of investigators’ job would be that much more difficult. Yes you guessed it Devon, Andres, and Thomas all came to the conclusion that they would need some undercover help to isolate the members of each of the eight Santanas Gang cells.

Of course Andres was our go to guy when it came to choosing the right private detective agency, one that had enough agents that could cover all eight cells and who knew how to look the other way when shit hit the fan, for the right price that is. So far, they were way under the initial two-million-dollar budget, half of which was already allocated to Andres. However, Thomas had the feeling that their boss, the Pope, would have no problem allocating more money as long as they were getting results. However, they would cross that bridge if and when that time came. Thomas, Devon, and Andres all agreed that $150,000 USD would be a fair price to pay the agency for approximately one week’s worth of surveillance. It should also be enough to buy some loyalty. Besides, the only person to meet the owner of the agency was Andres, and of course, they were friends, so that should help if it came down to an investigation. Besides, Andres had decided with his million-dollar payday that he would be relocating anyway. That kind of money just doesn’t come without some strings attached to it. Well, provided he lived long enough to spend it. Truth be told, after he heard what the job was and what they were trying to accomplish, he would have done it for free. But we will keep that our little secret.

After the private detective agency was contracted, all under the table with no paper trail. Neither Virgil Araneta or Andres wanted this to come back to bite them on the ass. Virgil contacted all of his undercover agents and set up schedules for the monitoring of the eight organ harvesting cells. This took a couple of days. While this was taking place, Devon, Thomas, and Andres divided the eight cells for in-person reconnoitering during the first few days of the surveillance. They each brought small point-and-shoot cameras with them so as not to draw too much attention as they recorded the layout of each cell site. While the undercover detectives were highly trained professionals, nothing could replace boots-on-the-ground acquired intel by those involved in doing the ops.

The three members of the team divvied up the three smaller cells. Devon took Puerto Princesa City, Thomas chose Laog, and Andres got the leftover, Kalibo. They would each spend half a day gathering information on their cell. Once they had gathered enough information on these cells, they would meet back up at their rental house. They would then work on the other five cells, which surrounded Manila. The three of them would blitz each cell together. This way, they could knock them out quickly and hopefully not attract too much attention to themselves.

By the time the contracted week was up with the Setting Moon Agency, and the reconnoitering was finished by Devon Thomas and Andres, the amount of data they had amassed was amazing. Thomas figured it would take at least six to seven days to evaluate it and put it in some semblance of order so that they could make a workable assault plan for each of the eight individual cells.

It took many hours of head scratching, half a bottle of Ibuprofen, and various plans being kicked around before Devon, Thomas, and Andres were able to come up with viable assault plans for each one of the cells. Assault plans to take out each cell and get out with their hides intact. Each plan included what gear they needed, escape routes, and where each team member would breach the buildings the cell members inhabit. Because all the attacks were planned for midnight, the theory was that most of the gang members would be sleeping. They discovered that since these gangs had been operating virtually unscathed for years, they had grown complacent. Most of the cells didn’t even have perimeter guards posted.