by Unknown
Etosa’s eyes shot wide. “It is false! Everyone knows we do not do such things anymore. Even our most radical branch in Colombia is now working in politics instead of these acts of barbarism. I know this for a fact!” Etosa demanded. He sat by Verdes. “I know the FARC did not do this, Carlos. I was the one who got the leadership to agree to the more peaceful ways to get things done. We are now more successful than ever. It doesn’t make sense,” he pleaded.
Carlos took Oro’s arm. “I believe you, my friend. I have watched all the good things happening, but why is Parente doing this in Venezuela when this happened in Colombia?”
Oro took a deep breath. “I do not know. True, we haven’t been as cordial lately, because we have been opposed to some of his policies, but he had always supported us before.”
“Tell me, are there any militant factions in the FARC at all now?” asked Verdes.
Oro shook his head. “None. We don’t wear uniforms and we don’t carry weapons. Those days are gone. In Venezuela and Colombia, the only ones with uniforms and rifles are the military. Are you sure they said it was the FARC?”
“That’s what they say. In the video, the captors were wearing dark camouflage uniforms and they had the flag of the FARC on the corner. It looked like some of the old posters you used to put out long ago.” Verdes placed his hand on Oro’s shoulder. “But if you say it is untrue, I believe you. We have been friends a long time. Too long for me to mistrust you.”
Oro looked at his friend. He remembered the day he first drove into the village with that old truck. It seemed a hundred years ago. A smile returned to his face. “Yes, too long. And we will get through this like we have all our other troubles, eh?” Oro said with a grin. Come have a drink with me and we shall share old times for a while. Tomorrow we will go up to my mountain hideaway and live off the hills like I used to do. When this blows over, I may have several blankets for you to sell to those tourists in the city,” he said with a laugh.
Verdes followed his friend into the house and two bottles of beer were opened. He couldn’t stay long. This information had to get back to Langley.
San Pedro, California
It was 5 am when Juan Ricardo drove his Toyoda to the parking area where he could watch the ship. There had been a lot of activity over the past few days and he had reported it in. Things had gone smoothly till last night when one of his assistants called in sick. There were only three people assigned to watch the ship and all three were tired of the hours spent simply sitting in a hot car and watching the people going on and off the great steel vessel. The decision had been made to simply pick up the watch again early this morning. As he pulled around the corner of a building, his heart sank. USS Iowa was gone. He also noticed a yellow convertible parked at the edge of the pier. Frantically, he fumbled for his phone and selected the number to call. After several rings, a groggy voice answered.
“The ship is gone,” said Ricardo.
“What do you mean, it’s gone,” asked the voice. “When did it leave?”
Ricardo explained the problem.
“El Presidente will not be pleased. How long was the ship left unwatched?”
“Only since midnight,” said Ricardo. “It must have left shortly after that since I cannot see her anywhere in the harbor. She cannot have gone far.”
The man on the other end swore. “I will report it in. If you are lucky, you only be asked to return home. Go find out what you can and report back,” said the voice.
“Immediately,” said Ricardo. The voice on the other end clicked off. Ricardo sat back in the seat and closed his eyes. This may just be the end of my life, he thought. His thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking in his window. Ricardo looked out to see a young man holding a badge and motioning for him to lower the window.
“Mr. Ricardo, I think you need to come with us,” the young man said as the window went down. Ricardo glanced at the keys with the thought of making a run for it, but when his eyes returned to the man, there was a pistol aiming between them.
“I wouldn’t recommend doing anything stupid. Take a look behind you,” the young man said.
That was when he saw about a dozen armed men aiming at him from the rear window. Ricardo slowly put his hands up.
“A smart choice,” said the young man. “We have been listening to your phone conversations and know who you have been reporting to. If you cooperate, things just might turn out well for you,” he said.
Ricardo took a breath. It might mean he could live after all. “My contact is reporting the ship is gone,” he said.
The young man smiled. “That’s just what we wanted.”
The Presidential Palace
Colonel Rojas arrived in his office early, as usual, and prepared the morning brief. There were some twenty officials in the room besides Parente and each had either a brief or was a part of the presidential staff. Parente seemed a little lost in thought during the briefing, but Rojas was used to that look. Whenever something was bothering the man, he didn’t pay attention to anything around him. Without much discussion on any topic, the meeting ended a little early. On his way out, Parente called Rojas over.
“You were correct in us watching the American battleships. Your admiral got his underway sometime after midnight,” Parente said. “Unfortunately, our people could not tell us the exact time, but I do not think that will make a difference. If you are correct, there is only one place they will go. I have people watching the western entrances to the Panama Canal. When she arrives, we will know.”
Rojas nodded. “Then it is as I feared. Do we have word on any of the other battleships?”
“No, but we will know the minute one begins to move,” Parente said. “In the meantime, I have ordered additional coastal artillery and some of our missile assets to our coasts. I need you to coordinate troops to patrol the beaches and to be ready in case we are approached from the sea.”
“At once, Señor Presidente!” said Rojas as he came to attention. “I will place extra attention to our more remote beaches. I doubt they would make a move into our more populated areas. Shall I double our air patrols?”
Parente nodded. “I have already ordered it, but I told our commanders it is an exercise. They will patrol out at least fifty miles. I also alerted our air force to have planes fully fueled and armed as a part of the exercise so that they may respond immediately when I give the word. I included our Navy in these exercises. I do not think they can do much good, but we can have them ready in any case. As of now, I do not think the Americans have any idea where their people are, but they are acting as I would, getting their assets in closer proximity to where it happened. For now, we need to be prepared in case things change.”
“Yes, Señor Presidente. Do any of our commanders know the real reasons behind the exercise,” asked Rojas.
Parente shook his head. “And I do not wish them to know. Remember that, My Colonel,” Parente said pointing his finger in his face. “If the Americans come to our shores, they will be defending our homeland, nothing more.”
“Of course, Señor Presidente, I fully realize how important this is,” said Rojas. “Besides, my duty is to serve you in the manner you desire, nothing more,” he said stiffly.
Parente’s face softened. A smile appeared once more. “Forgive me, My Colonel, this information has placed me on edge. I know you will do your duty. As I hear more, we can take additional steps. Until then, we shall act normally,” he said as he turned toward his office. Suddenly he turned again. “Tell me, do you like sports?”
There it was. Now Rojas knew for a fact he was being watched. He could not let on how much it concerned him. He smiled at his president. “Yes, Señor Presidente. In my youth I played lacrosse and some fútbol, but since I have been serving you I do not have much time for attending any games. As a matter of fact, I just gave my lacrosse equipment to Colonel Messina, for his son to use. It seems he is getting involved in a league near his home. I was hoping to have some time to help the young man ou
t,” he said enthusiastically.
Parente’s smile grew wide. Rojas had confirmed that Messina had visited him and why. It made perfect sense and was beyond suspicion. It was another worry taken care of. “Good. Perhaps you should take some time off to help out. At the same time, I am planning on attending tomorrow’s fútbol game. Messina must fly me there. Why don’t you come and the two of you enjoy the afternoon. We can all use some time to relax,” he said with some enthusiasm.
“That would be very welcome, Señor Presidente. Thank you!”
Parente waved his hand. “It is a small thing to do for my trusted Colonel,” he said as he turned and entered his office.
Rojas let out a long breath. The tenseness he was feeling slowly left him. Somehow he had dodged a bullet and still arranged to attend the game with Messina. Things were getting too close. Between he and Messina, there had to be a way to get out of this.
USS Iowa
Captain Douglas “Dusty” Rhodes could not believe his good fortune. Only a week before he had been called by his detailer to hightail it to San Pedro and take command of his ship. His orders were to take command and, using a crew made up of reservists and veterans, get underway as soon as possible. He had known immediately which ship it was. He had originally been aboard in the 1980s as an enlisted man, and then went through the programs to become an officer. As a Commander, he had been assigned aboard the ship as Operations Officer under Captain and then Rear Admiral Roger Hammond. Now he was sitting in the captain’s chair on the bridge looking out over the bow of the ship as she made her way south.
The sun was just now edging over the horizon. To Iowa’s right was the guided missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, the first of the modern DDGs. To the left, was the guided missile cruiser USS Kings Mountain. Astern was the recently commissioned destroyer USS Cochrane, the first modern destroyer with electric drive. Ahead was USS Freedom, a littoral combat ship capable of making 50 knots. It wasn’t a large force, but woe be unto anyone who tried to stop them. This force packed a punch.
Rhodes looked around the bridge. Everything was quiet and orderly. The Officer of the Deck was maintaining a good watch, keeping an extra lookout for anything that might show up in these coastal waters. The reports from the Combat Information Center and lookouts came in routinely and displayed accurately on the status board. Just moments before the task group had been ordered to change course and Iowa had responded as she should. He was enjoying being in the captain’s chair.
From the time Rhodes had come aboard he noticed that everything had quickly returned to the orderly routine he had experienced during the war. Except for just a few men, they had all served aboard her before, and the veterans had made sure the ship remained ready during the three years since her return. Now USS Iowa was at sea again, ready to answer the call. He clipper bow was slicing through the seas at a good 25 knots. Down below, Captain Kimberlain had his engineering plant humming smoothly without a strain. Later today they would exercise one of the turrets. He didn’t have enough crew to fully man the ship. There were only a little over 1,200 aboard, three hundred shy of a full complement, but the plan was not to fight; it was to be a decoy. The orders were to join up with another task unit in the Gulf of Mexico and then be seen in various places. Rhodes didn’t know the extent of his mission, but that didn’t really matter. Shorthanded or not, he would make sure the ship could fight with what it had – just in case.
Rhodes’ thoughts were interrupted as a khaki uniform appeared beside him. “How do you like sitting there, Dusty?” asked Hammond with a grin as he motioned for Rhodes to keep his seat.
“Just like Christmas,” Rhodes replied with a grin. “Never thought I’d make it, but now that I’m here, I like it.”
Hammond laughed. “So did I. I got to like it so much I often slept in that seat, but we won’t have as many worries as last time.”
Rhodes shifted in the seat. “Don’t know, I might get used to it. Any new word?”
Hammond shook his head. Rhodes noticed the deepening lines on Hammond’s face. Something was hurting the man, but he was determined not to show it.
“No, too early,” said Hammond, “We are all set to transit the canal after dark. We’ll meet up with the others the next day. It seems our departure was reported in. I got word they have our spies and are making some progress, but they don’t tell me much. You know how the intel types are.”
Rhodes nodded. “So we are just to cruise around and scare the hell out of people,” he said. “Well, that still isn’t going to stop me from getting the ship ready. You know about my gunshot this afternoon?”
Hammond nodded. “Just make sure we’re safe and you can shoot all day long as far as I’m concerned. Operations is setting up some port visits for us and I have something brewing to pass the time. Maybe we can give a little demonstration where people can watch. Could be fun.”
“No matter what, I’ll have at least one turret ready and maybe two. The manning is good, but Weaps is looking at what positions we’re missing. I learned back in the 80’s to do it right the first time. We’ll be safe,” said Rhodes. “By the way, when are you heading to the beach?”
“I’ll get off at the canal. I need to be in Washington and a few other places to get some things set up. I finally figured out a way to get our team back home and I need to make sure things are laid on. The big thing is to be seen aboard the ship as she transits the canal. Then I’m free to move.”
“Well, enjoy your time at sea for a couple more days. I’ll let you know if anything comes up,” said Rhodes.
“Fair enough,” said Hammond as he turned and left the bridge.
Rhodes watched him leave. Something had changed him since leaving the Iowa after the last war. He was putting up a brave façade. Hammond was getting ready for something. Rhodes knew it would be something big. As long as he was a part of it, he was a happy man.
Caracas
It had taken Father Cardoza nearly a full day to hike to the nearest village and get to a phone. It had taken another half a day for his friend to drive up there and bring him back. It was a very tired man who finally slipped the first SD card into his computer to bring an image up in Photoshop. After making the corrections to all the images, he picked out twenty of the images and placed them on a thumb drive. The original SD cards were hidden away so he could get them if needed. Then he erased the images from his computer and set it to defrag to make sure nothing was left. The other SD cards were placed by the computer and one inserted into the drive. He brought up one of the most beautiful images of a soaring Harpy eagle. With a few corrections, he saved it and several other images on the computer’s hard drive then made the first image his desktop background so that anyone asking questions could be shown immediate results.
Cardoza was scared. President Parente was a powerful man. There was no doubt if he knew he had these images, Cardoza would simply disappear. There was no way to simply walk to the American Embassy and hand something over. The embassies were watched like hawks. People entering and leaving were questioned. He also could not talk to the Cardinal about this. Cardinal Gregory had been in office for a long time and he had prided himself on working closely with every president, including Parente. It was well known that Gregory would do anything to remain just where he is. Cardoza had already determined that the Cardinal would simply take the images and either give them up or throw them away – probably the latter – then order Cardoza reassigned. But he also knew that these images must get to the Americans. His friend had told him about what was going on and he was wondering if this was tied to the images he took.
There was a knock at his door and Father Emilio stuck his head in. “Father Cardoza, I did not expect you back so soon,” he exclaimed. “Did you find what you wanted?”
Cardoza smiled and invited the priest over. Emilio gasped at the stunning detail and beauty Cardoza had captured in his camera. “Magnificent!” he gasped. “I wish I had the talent you have at capturing the beauty of God’s earth
. Will you show us all of them as before?”
Cardoza nodded. “Of course. As soon as I finish cleaning them up. I couldn’t wait to get back to show all of you. It was a glorious couple of days,” he said.
“Wonderful. I look forward to it. When I saw the light in your room I wanted to ask your help. I need to see a dentist tomorrow afternoon and wondered if you would take confessions for me. I’m not sure how long it will take.”
Cardoza smiled. “Of course, Father, I would be happy to.”
Father Emilio thanked him and left. Cardoza thought for a minute in astonishment. Tomorrow was Thursday. Every Thursday afternoon one of the Americans from the embassy always came to confession. He reached into his pocket and felt the thumb drive. God moves in mysterious ways, he thought with a smile.
Caracas Sports Stadium
The game was fairly exciting despite the unease both Rojas and Messina felt. After depositing Presidente Parente in his box, along with the young buxom blonde who had been selected to be his distraction for the game, both men were led to seats at the center of the stadium on the home side, just twenty rows up. As usual, Parente had begun the game waving to the attendees in the stadium before ordering the mirrored glass closed. Both men could easily imagine what was really going on in the air conditioned Presidential Box. As usual, El Presidente would later ask someone who had won.
Despite the enormous stadium, Rojas and Messina were surrounded by throngs of people watching the game. People were so close there was no way to really talk, and both felt they had been placed in these seats for a purpose. At one point Rojas noticed one of the men one row forward kept glancing back at them. But it was a good game and the spirited play on the field allowed the men to relax a little. Soon they were cheering like the rest.
During the break, Rojas leaned over to Messina. “How did your son like the lacrosse gear,” he asked. The man in front turned his head slightly to listen.