Wilco- Lone Wolf 19

by Geoff Wolak

  ‘How many?’

  ‘Four of them.’

  ‘Shoot them, then go get ID cards and phones.’

  Five minutes later we heard dull blasts from the Elephant Guns, and half an hour later Nicholson walked over to me, a plastic bag handed over full of goodies.

  ‘They had M4s, no sights, but they did have nice binoculars, so we borrowed them.’

  With my nose in the bag I said, ‘Good work, stay sharp.’ I took out a sat phone and checked that it was not a bomb, calling London for a trace. The IDs were of Mexicans, but from a province south of us.

  As the sun dipped Tinker called. ‘That phone you got, it links in to a pattern we have for the Tiujana Cartel.’

  ‘I'd say Rodrigez Cholos would be taking a personal interest in what the user of that phone reported back.’

  ‘Ah, in that case we may have him. He's fifty miles south of you.’

  ‘That’s in the middle of nowhere. Track him, see if he's moving.’

  As the sun set Swifty reported movement, men sneaking up.

  I transmitted, ‘All teams, get ready, we have company, and this time their using their brains. Stay down and stay quiet, hit the men moving up to us.’

  Tinker called. ‘Can you talk?’

  ‘Yeah. Late night where you are?’

  ‘Past 11pm, yes. Listen, that phone hit, if it is him he's a mile west of you.’

  I jumped up. ‘Quick, get me the coordinates, and then get me a building or street description. Work fast.’

  Phone down, Moran asked, ‘What’s that?’

  ‘The man in charge, he's down there, a mile away.’

  ‘We go get him?’

  ‘Fuck yes.’

  When my phone trilled it was another man, not Tinker. ‘Wilco, your position is in front of me, I have the town map. Are you facing west?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Look for the main square and a round fountain.’

  I stood tall. ‘I've seen it today, yes. Hang on. OK, got it.’

  ‘North two blocks, a hotel listed as four floors.’

  ‘I can see only one like that.’

  ‘Then that must be it.’

  ‘Get back to me if he moves.’ I called Carlos. ‘Do you have RPGs?’

  ‘Left over from when you were here.’

  ‘Explosives?’

  ‘I can get some, yes.’

  ‘I want you to prepare the two Hueys, and they land 600yards east of the ridge which is above the compound we hit, have a look at the map.’

  ‘What will you do?’

  ‘We think Cholos is in a hotel in the town centre.’

  ‘He has used it before, he has a suite on the top floor.’

  ‘Do your people say he is here?’ I probed.

  ‘No, but I make some calls and see.’

  ‘Do so, and call me back. Get the Hueys ready.’ I called in Running Bear, Slider and Rizzo, Moran and Ginger.’ Stood tall but in the darkness, I pointed out the hotel. ‘The main man is in that hotel down there we think. We have the two Hueys, and RPGs, so we can drop them and fire down, but there's no guarantee of hitting him.’

  ‘Hueys are the distraction,’ Slider suggested. ‘He runs out the back, we have men close by.’ He pointed. ‘That phone tower thing, we have the snipers up it, men at the base.’

  ‘We don't want the Hueys damaged,’ I cautioned.

  Moran put in, ‘They stay high, drop and shoot, quick attack.’

  ‘We go now?’ Rizzo asked. ‘Before he pops out for a McDonald’s.’

  ‘Soon, yes, Hueys could be here quickly, but we need to collect RPGs. Who wants to be on the Hueys?’

  ‘I'll do it,’ Rizzo offered. ‘Me and Dicky in one, Tiller and Brace the other.’

  ‘Fine. I'll lead the attack on the hotel with the main body, and we thin out his men when we're down there.’ I transmitted. ‘Snipers, come down to me. Crab and Duffy, come in to me with your teams. Mitch, close the gap, we're going hunting.’

  When Crab arrived I told him, ‘You take over this position when we move out. Duffy, up the ridge and watch both ways. Go.’

  Duffy led his American Wolves off at the double as Crab had his team sit down. He passed my snipers as they came in.

  I transmitted, ‘Swifty, send me four men.’ To Nicholson I began, ‘See down there, the phone tower, I want you up it. See that four storey hotel? We think the main man is in there.’

  ‘Not anymore,’ Slider noted, and we all turned as the hotel crumbled in on itself, the blast reaching us a few seconds later.

  We all stood staring down for a few seconds.

  ‘So no Huey ride,’ Rizzo finally noted. ‘I love Hueys.’

  I called Carlos as the men stared down at the burning building. ‘It’s Petrov, and someone just blew up that hotel, not us.’

  ‘Blew it up? That’s … very odd. My sources say he was due to arrive.’

  ‘Don't send the Hueys yet. I'll call you back. Ask your source if Cholos was in the building.’

  I called Tinker. ‘That hotel, it blew.’

  ‘It blew?’

  ‘Yeah, not us.’

  ‘Someone else he pissed off.’

  ‘Track that phone, we need to know if he was in it at the time and not in his favourite taverna.’

  ‘On it now.’

  I told the teams, ‘Get down and wait. Sergeant Crab, wait in the compound, get some cover.’

  He led his team off. I sent back the four men from Swifty.

  ‘Snipers, silencers on, go forwards and find a spot, shoot something interesting. Nicholson, see what they're doing at that hotel.’

  I called Franks. ‘A hotel in this town just blew, and Cholos was reportedly inside.’

  ‘Who blew it?’

  ‘Good question. It must have caused some radio and phone chatter, so ask the NSA.’

  Carlos called back first, ten minutes later, as I sat in cold wind. ‘He was not in the building, he was seen looking towards it.’

  ‘Thanks, I can target him again. Standby the Hueys but don't send them.’

  I called Tinker as I stood in a cold wind. ‘Cholos was not in the building, he was seen after it blew. Get me another fix, he'll need a place to bed down, someplace nice and warm.’

  ‘On it.’

  Cracks sounded out. ‘It’s Tomo, and I got the phone tower electric stuff, so no pizza ordered for a while.’

  ‘Good work.’

  A flurry of cracks, perhaps twenty, and I asked what they were doing.

  Nicholson came on with, ‘We got the police station radio mast, and all the police jeeps. They can't arrest us now.’

  ‘It’s Swifty, and we shot twenty, can't see anyone now.’

  ‘Roger that.’

  Franks called fifteen minutes later. ‘NSA has real time radio chat, and Cholos is on a CB radio, phones not working in the town. He's south of the hotel a mile and east, so southeast.’

  ‘Great. Standby.’ I transmitted, ‘Snipers, head south on the double, one mile exactly, get position on the town. Swifty, cover them, have four men follow them to watch their rear.’

  Four black outlines ran past and headed south, past the crashed helos and on.

  ‘Where they going?’ Moran asked.

  ‘The NSA has a live radio fix on Cholos.’

  ‘That’s handy.’

  I shouted, ‘Running Bear!’ He came in. ‘Can you get CB radios on your kit?’

  ‘Yeah,’ his black outline reported.

  ‘Take your team south after my snipers, the cartel boss is using CB radio. Go!’

  He rushed off, calling in his team.

  A long fifteen minutes later Nicholson called me. ‘We're in position,’ came a man out of breath. ‘What we doing?’

  ‘Is Running Bear with you?’

  ‘Yeah, just arrived.’

  ‘Send him down the hill and to the edge of the town, to use their radios to pick up CB radio chat, the main man is directing things by radio. You get position above, he feeds
you position, you shoot anyone that looks like he's in charge of something or has bodyguards with him.’

  ‘Moving.’

  Phone down, Slider asked, ‘So who blew up his nice hotel?’

  ‘A rival. Question is, which one; they're all at each other's throats.’

  ‘He ain't massing his boys for an attack up the hill, so he's thinking,’ Slider told me. ‘Do they have mortars?’

  ‘Could do, but I plan on leaving soon anyhow.’

  Tinker called back. ‘He's southeast of that hotel still, calls to someone ten miles south and to an airstrip twenty miles southeast.’

  ‘Ah. OK, keep the reports coming.’ I transmitted, ‘All teams prepare to move south. Mitch, call in your team north.’

  ‘Acknowledged.’

  ‘Crab, move south and make contact with Swifty. Duffy, you hear me?’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  ‘You wait till the last man passes, then you come down.’

  ‘Roger that.’

  I told those around me, ‘The main man is calling an airstrip, so I think he has a nasty surprise for us. Ether that, or he's planning his escape to someplace nice and warm.’

  My phone trilled as the American Wolves walked past in a line, just black outlines. ‘It’s Nicholson, and we think we see him, stood on a terrace kind of on the first floor of a bar, armed men around him, radio in hand.’

  ‘How far?’

  ‘I think we can hit him with a bit of luck, not much wind.’

  ‘You take the shot, Tomo tries to hit him also, then you kill everyone on that terrace, outside, nearby, all armed men, destroy the jeeps. Where's Running Bear?’

  ‘He's sneaking in, just 400yards from that taverna.’

  ‘Fire when ready, but have Mouri cover Running Bear after the initial volley.’

  Phone down, I waited, no view of the area southeast.

  Nicholson fired, Cholos's arm sliced away at the elbow, Tomo hitting Cholos in the knee. Twenty-four rounds fired, and most all of the men of the terrace were wounded or dead, my snipers hitting men outside, jeeps, even the neon sign.

  Swifty could see the action and he reported it, Running Bear going street to street, and soon finishing off wounded men or armed men, soon seen on the terrace and finishing off men.

  I ordered a withdrawal as I led Echo south, Duffy coming down. Running Bear got me on the radio twenty minutes later and made his way through the dark to me as we walked south.

  He was puffing. ‘That kept us fit,’ he told me, panting. He handed me a sat phone. ‘Might belong to Cholos. Your boys shot his arm off.’

  ‘No wounded?’

  ‘Dog bit one of my boys.’

  I checked the phone, battery out, no bombs inside, and called SIS. ‘It’s Wilco, trace this number and pass it to Tinker at GCHQ. Thanks.’

  Tinker called me back ten minutes later. ‘What you doing with that phone, that’s the one we were tracking?’

  ‘We prised it from his warm dead hands.’

  ‘Bloody hell.’

  ‘Blood hands, yes. Got a paper and pen?’

  ‘Hang on. Go.’

  I read out the last numbers called, ten of them. ‘Run all those.’ I handed the phone to Running Bear. ‘Who sounds Mexican?’

  ‘Charlie.’

  We passed Charlie the phone. ‘Call all the previous numbers, ask how plans are progressing. Then listen.’

  Charlie started to make calls as we trekked south, teams falling into line behind me. I checked we had everyone as Charlie shouted at a few people in Spanish.

  After twenty minutes I halted the teams for a break, the town now distant.

  Charlie stepped forwards. ‘That was fun. Two queried my accent, so I called them names. Others started blabbing, and at the airstrip is a transport with a tail ramp, some chemical to drop, plus napalm. I told them to wait my call. But the interesting response was mention that the FARC team were ready.’

  ‘FARC, of course,’ I realised. ‘They hate Tomsk, and were rumoured to be in bed with Medellin. And they have some well-trained and well-motivated men. And women.’

  I called Tomsk. ‘Listen, the FARC are involved.’

  ‘Those fanatics.’

  ‘Check the border area, have the Panama soldiers out checking as well, just in case. But I think the FARC lent soldiers to Terotski, and FARC have old ties with leftists in Nicaragua and El Salvador. They would have loved helping Terotski. Oh, and I just killed Cholos, so boast about it.’

  ‘You got him?’

  ‘Unless he has a body double like me.’

  I called SIS London. ‘It’s Wilco. Update all British parties interested that the Colombian FARC are involved. Wilco out.’

  I called Franks. ‘We got some intel, and the FARC are involved.’

  ‘Those nuts. What do they want here?’

  ‘To hurt your military – yes, to make some money – yes, to get even with Tomsk – yes, to side with Medellin – yes, to have contacts with Nicaraguan leftists – yes, to want to work with Terotski – yes.’

  ‘They're spread around, hard to hit.’

  ‘I hit them before, I can hit them again. Send it up the line. Oh, and we shot Cholos full of holes. Check the NSA radio chatter.’

  He was back on ten minutes later. ‘NSA are mad at you.’

  ‘Why?’ I puzzled.

  ‘They got the radio chatter about Cholos being killed, but someone used a radio over and over saying that the NSA are a bunch of overpaid transvestites sat in small cubicles.’

  I laughed loudly. ‘We deny that.’

  I went and loudly scolded Running Bear's team, Echo laughing, Charlie denying it, but not convincingly.

  Stepping away, I called the Bolivian.

  ‘Yah?’

  ‘It’s Petrov.’

  ‘And how are things?’

  ‘My men accidentally shot Cholos a few times.’

  ‘Well, guns have a safety for a reason, you should reprimand them.’

  ‘I will. Any information you have will be appreciated.’

  ‘My sources say that he lost his drugs, and two helicopters, and that he is close to ruin. And that someone destroyed the town they run, a mess made.’

  ‘Vandals, yes, teenagers. And what do you know about the involvement of the FARC rebels?’

  ‘Them? They side with Medellin, money taken, so if Medellin want Tomsk gone it makes sense that the FARC might hire themselves out to Medellin. And don't forget, you hurt the FARC badly. You … they want dead.’

  My next call was the Deputy Chief. It was 11.30pm, but he was awake. ‘Still living in your office?’

  ‘It’s starting to smell. What you got?’

  ‘Medellin paid the FARC it seems, and Cholos made use of them. Oh, we just shot Cholos full of holes, so you can release that.’

  ‘Some good news, yes, and the Pentagon will love to blame the FARC.’

  ‘I think that the better quality foot soldiers firing the missiles were FARC.’

  ‘Will FARC move on Tomsk?’

  ‘They'd not get far, and they remember what I did to them last time. I had Tomsk warn the Panama Government.’

  ‘Hold on.’ He was back on a good three minutes later. ‘We have a body in Canada we think is Terotski, blood type matches, teeth, DNA being done now. But he's been dead a week.’

  ‘So he would not have got his pay-out, and Li Xing has not been seen. Someone is cleaning house. Question is, who's really pulling the strings here.’

  Phone away, I had to wonder about Miller, and Deep State. They had been very quiet of late. Someone killed Terotski, but not an agency, since that agency would have claimed the credit very loudly. Deep State, however, could not publically claim anything.

  An hour later, as we worked our way around to the other side of the town, Franks called. ‘Got some news. Cholos was not very popular. I'd go so far as to say unpopular. NSA has local radio chat, and our Navy ships off the coast Pacific side picked some indiscrete chat, and absolutely no one is co
ming your way, and those near you are leaving.’

  ‘Well … that’s … deflating. I'm starting to feel unloved.’

  ‘What'll you do?’

  ‘Sit and think a bit, then pull out.’

  I led teams back to the main road, spread them out, and we were two miles south of the start of the town, the road in valley of small gentle hills, rounded hills with bushes, some local crops growing.

  The first jeep of armed men was shot up, and it helped us out by ending up in a ditch. I had the teams move slowly north, but to ambush jeeps when they were seen.

  As we progressed we passed a roadside cafe, the lads stopping to buy things with the dollars I handed them, the young lady on the tills shocked beyond words.

  By time we reached habitation, albeit sleepy habitation, we had shot-up ten jeeps, some blocking the road a little.

  All of the teams were on the west side, so I led them a skirting movement around the town, my snipers firing as we progressed. Armed men were hit, and their jeeps; I wanted to rid this town of the Tiujana Cartel men.

  A drugs lab was found, but empty, so we simply set fire to it.

  Level with the blown hotel we took fifteen minutes to kill perhaps forty men, soon pressing north and around, Nicholson and Tomo in a competition for the best shot, Murphy using his regular Valmet but hitting many distant targets.

  North of the town we crossed over the main road and climbed up a gentle hill, on a course to where we had been dropped off, a dawn pick-up organised.

  Carlos called me, and it was 4am.

  ‘You up early?’ I asked.

  ‘I just had a call, and ten or more army trucks were seen, the south road, not going to that town but they turned east towards me.’

  ‘Send the trucks for us now if you can, and jeeps, and see if the Huey pilots are awake, send them to the hills, we are say … six miles west of the drop off point.’

  ‘You think those trucks come here?’

  ‘I had word that the FARC were involved, so those trucks are a worry.’

  ‘FARC? They have well-trained soldiers, no.’

  ‘The do, so get me the trucks and Hueys, we will move east towards the drop off.’

  I transmitted, ‘Everyone, double time!’ I started to jog, but the going was easy enough.

  After fifteen minutes of jogging, and now nice and warm, my phone trilled. I eased to walk, the teams behind copying.