El Paso, a major city along the U.S.-Mexico border, sits in western Texas and is directly adjacent to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Historically, the two cities were once one—only divided after the Mexican-American War, with the Rio Grande marking the boundary: one side American, the other Mexican.
The Omega Team arrived in El Paso via chartered plane. Here, they would rendezvous with DEA agents before entering Mexico through Juárez, notoriously nicknamed "The City of Violence."
The plane landed, and as the cabin door opened, Owen appeared at the top of the stairs, sunglasses on and a weapon bag slung across his back, containing all his gear.
Four black Chevrolet Suburbans waited silently on the tarmac, gleaming under the sunlight. Standing beside one was a short-haired woman dressed in camo fatigues and a tactical vest. She wore a baseball cap with goggles clipped to it, oversized comms on either ear, and sported rare green hair.
Owen studied the woman—sharp features and a firm frame. Behind her stood several men: one Black, one heavily bearded man also wearing a cap, and two others with short hair—one with half his face covered by a tactical balaclava. All were fully armed.
As Omega disembarked, the group approached.
"You arrived sooner than I expected. I'm Ela, DEA," the green-haired woman greeted.
"Owen. CTU," he replied.
The bearded man stepped forward. "You can call me Shepherd. These are my teammates. My squad will be supporting you."
"Holt," said the balaclava-wearing man, nodding briefly. He seemed to share Ghost's penchant for face coverings—though Ghost typically wore a skull design and dark glasses.
"Midas."
"Weaver."
The remaining two introduced themselves in turn. Weaver, the Black man, appeared to be a sniper based on his weapon. The Omega members then exchanged their own callsigns in return.
"Let's get moving. We'll debrief at base," Ela said.
Everyone split between the Suburbans. Ela rode with Owen, taking the driver's seat. As they rolled out, she began her briefing.
"Your target, Mario Sanchez, is a major figure in the Sanchez Cartel. He operates primarily out of Juárez, but we don't have a precise location. Honestly, nobody does—he's got a lot of enemies in that city. However, we do have intel on his right-hand man, Mat Guzman. He might know where Mario is."
Owen nodded. "Tell me more about Juárez."
"Juárez is the most critical border city between Mexico and the U.S. About 80,000 people cross between El Paso and Juárez every day. The place is crawling with drug traffickers. All six of the major Mexican cartels have bases there, and they're far from friendly with each other. On top of that, countless smaller dealers operate independently."
"What's Guzman's story?"
"Mat Guzman is Mario's top lieutenant and closest confidant. He's deeply involved in Mario's operations—kidnappings, extortion, drug trafficking, human smuggling, all of it. And speaking of smuggling, you might not know this, but these days, human smuggling is even more profitable than drugs. Each of the six major cartels has its own secret route across the border."
Owen had heard as much. Despite the border being lined with fencing, the Mexican cartels had long tunneled beneath it. While many tunnels had been discovered by Border Patrol, countless others still remained.
"Does Mario have a wife or family?"
The question came from Ghost, who sat in the back.
Ela frowned and glanced at Ghost in the rearview mirror. "He does. But I strongly advise against targeting them. Mario may be a criminal, but he keeps his wife and child away from the business. They live like ordinary people. If you're thinking of using them as leverage, I have to remind you—that's illegal.
"And he's notoriously protective of them. Years ago, when a rival cartel threatened them, Mario went berserk. He launched an assault that nearly sparked a war between two cartels, massacring the rival's entire family in retaliation. It made national news. Ever since then, everyone knows that messing with Mario's family is a death sentence—unless you plan to kill him outright, don't touch them, or you'll face relentless retaliation."
Owen and the Omega members exchanged a few glances. To them, Ela came off a little too idealistic. Fieldwork—especially international black ops—rarely stayed within the bounds of legality. Here, they were outsiders in enemy territory. Sometimes, rules had to bend. And the idea that a drug lord's family was innocent? Nobody bought that.
Owen gave Ela a discreet sidelong glance. Was the DEA really assigning a fresh academy grad to this op? If she truly believed what she'd just said, he had no idea how she'd even survived this long in Mexico.
Sensing the awkward silence, Owen changed the subject. "What about Shepherd and his team? Are they DEA too?"
"No. Phantom Squad is military, but they've been assisting the DEA in high-risk captures. They're a Tier 1 experimental unit. Given that your target is Mario, I figured they'd be a good asset, so I brought them along."
Owen silently prayed that Phantom Squad didn't share Ela's naïve idealism. If they did, this mission was going to be much harder than expected.
The convoy made its way to the U.S. military base in El Paso. The area was teeming with heavily armed American soldiers. Gunmen manned turrets along reinforced concrete walls. The four Suburbans rolled in single file through checkpoints and barricades.
Inside the briefing room, intel boards were already covered with files and photos on the Sanchez Cartel. Though not the largest in numbers, the cartel was by far the most dangerous—thanks in large part to its private spec-ops unit.
Ela stood before the board. "Let me emphasize—our actions in Mexico must be coordinated with their authorities. I'll handle communications. I've already contacted their drug enforcement agency—they'll cooperate."
The Omega members stayed silent. With President Palmer's directive clear, they would play along with DEA protocol—for now. If anything went south, they'd adapt. Owen was mildly reassured when he noticed the Phantom Squad members exchanging skeptical glances. It seemed they, too, weren't entirely on board with Ela's approach.
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