by Bella Juarez
It was perfect! He couldn’t believe his good fortune in the ongoing efforts to stop the American aggressor from deploying yet another weapon of destruction.
“Mr. President, I will provide you whatever I have at my disposal.”
“I’d hoped you’d say that. Provide me with the case you brought, then I’ll send for the one you’ve hidden. We need all of your resources to finally stop them.”
Nayyaf paused. One of the cases was still in Mexico and had been promised to Montenegro in return for getting him here and for the use of his guards. He needed those weapons to get his contraband across the border and stop the Americans who were interrupting his business.
“Mr. President, in order to secure the shipment of the devices as well as get freedom fighters into the country, I had to trade one of the cases. We still have four of the five we were able to get out of Afghanistan.”
The president nodded and smiled. “That is most disappointing. We need all of the devices we can possibly get. Ask your friend to reconsider, and we’ll give you the money.”
The swap had been at Montenegro’s suggestion. Nayyaf didn’t believe he would change his mind for any amount of money. His chief of security had been devising a plan for the deployment of these devices up and down the southern United States border. Montenegro’s cartel would be the most powerful in all of Central America. He was currently in the middle of negotiations with the cartels that controlled the borders from California to Texas. Of course, it would allow a flood of freedom fighters into the United States to set up cells all over the country without being detected.
“Mr. President, if those weapons are deployed up and down the border between Mexico and the United States, it would provide a secondary opportunity, if planned properly.”
“This is not negotiable. You will get the remainder of those weapons. While you’re negotiating the return of the weapons, please let Mr. Montenegro know that his men are guests of Iran until he’s returned them.”
* * * *
The task force waited outside the Iranian Embassy for Bakri to emerge. From tapping his lines, they’d been able to find out that he’d be staying at the Astoria while in New York. Van and Alan were waiting with four ICE and FBI agents at the hotel. Gavin and Rio had been tailing the minister since they’d arrived. They’d called the New York field office for both ICE and the FBI who’d quickly located Bakri while he waited for his meeting with the Iranian president. Rio watched Gavin calmly scroll through his mail on his phone while they waited. The limousine emerged but they didn’t follow right away. There were two cars on either side of the block waiting to follow. They’d let Gavin know when they had sight of Bakri, and then he’d hone in on their GPS signal. They were hoping he’d lead them to the weapons. If not, they’d enforce his arrest warrant for illegal entry into the country and turn him over to interrogators who’d get the information for them. After a few minutes, Gavin started the car and followed the GPS signal of the car behind Bakri.
“Fuck!” Gavin swore as they pulled into the hotel garage.
“I think he took it with him and left it at the embassy. It’s too risky to be going back and forth with those things,” Rio said
“Fred, Tango has a new set of babysitters.”
Gavin and Rio exchanged glances. They hadn’t planned on this sort of glitch.
“Come back with that? Who are they? Do we know?”
“This is Charlie. Looks like he picked up a new escort courtesy of his host during his last visit.” Van’s voice came over the radio.
“He picked up a set of Iranian guards? What happened to Montenegro’s men?” Rio asked
“Something went wrong,” Gavin said. “Charlie, keep eyes on that room. Make sure no one leaves once they go in.”
“Copy that.”
They sat in silence for a moment. The turn of events put a whole new spin on this bust. If they tried to take Bakri, and the guards fought back, this could turn into an international incident. They had to get someone in the room to check the situation. Thankfully, they had people in the kitchen and in the laundry room waiting to see if he called for room service. He’d been using amenities at the hotel rather than opting to go out and risk being captured or, worse, assassinated.
“I say we wait him out,” Rio said after a moment. “He’s like clockwork. For the last three days that we’ve been here, he’s ordered his meals at the same time every day. It’ll only be a couple of hours before he calls down for his dinner.” Gavin’s jaw flexed. She was beginning to learn his habits, too. That flex in his jawline muscle meant he was grinding his teeth, probably in anger. He exhaled and looked at her. At times, he could be the most difficult man in the world to read, but now he sent his message loud and clear. He’d waited too long for this. “If we screw this up, we’ll make a bigger mess, and he’ll get away again.”
Picking up the radio, he closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Stand down. Wait until we get eyes inside at chow time to check the situation.”
The waiting was the worst part for any agent. At least when she’d been laid up in the brush she could think about other things—like what creatures were trying to curl up next to her. In this situation, waiting could be a bad thing. Every worst-case scenario played out in her head as she watched the minutes tick by on the dash clock. When the radio finally cracked with news, it startled her.
“Easy there, partner. Little nervous?” Gavin said, chuckling as he picked it up.
Schotzie had picked up on Rio’s angst and poked her head over the seat. Rio stroked the dog’s neck and calmed herself. She listened as the ICE agent who’d been undercover as hotel staff reported on the situation in the room. He described how many men he’d seen. The routine had changed. He hadn’t been allowed access to the room when he dropped off the food. Instead, one of the guards received the food at the door and shut it quickly.
“Copy that.” Gavin looked at her. “What do you think?”
“We have the warrant. He’s not an Iranian citizen, so we have grounds to enter the room.”
“You know this could turn into a clusterfuck real quick.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about for the last two hours.”
“Clusterfuck or not, we have a warrant to serve, and a bad dude to take into custody,” Gavin said, reaching behind the seat for his tactical vest. “Wait until I call for you. When you get in there, me and Van will cover you while you sweep the place,” he instructed, getting out of the car. He stuck his head inside before closing the door. “Do not move, until you hear from me, understood?”
“I can take care of myself.”
“No doubt, but your fiancé will kick my ass if anything happens to you again.”
Sitting back, she picked up the radio and listened to the chatter while she waited for her signal. The mention of Danny made her feel for her ring and stare at it while she waited. She smirked as she mentally heard Danny crack a smartass remark about kicking Gavin’s ass. She seriously doubted that her partner would take an ass kicking from anyone, but she knew Danny would certainly make good on his threat if she got hurt. Only a few minutes ticked by before she heard Gavin’s voice over the radio. “K-9, come on up.”
It amazed her that Schotzie always seemed to know when it was time. She yipped when she heard “K-9”.
“Come on, girl. Time to go to work.”
When she and Schotzie arrived at the room, she saw three men dressed in black kneeling and cuffed. She surveyed the small arsenal of weapons laid out on the desk, and the man she assumed was Minister Bakri standing off to the side, looking very frightened. She swept the suite looking for weapons but mostly for any indication that there were more EMP devices. After a couple of sweeps through the place she came up empty-handed. The New York CBP took the Iranian guards into custody and left. Gavin turned to Bakri.
“Minister Bakri, you’re under arrest for illegal entry into the United States.”
The man straitened himself. “I don�
�t think you know who I am. I have diplomatic immunity. I can come and go as I wish while conducting the business of my country.”
A sudden storm erupted in the room as Gavin charged toward the minister. Before anyone could move to stop him, he grabbed the man and lifted him off his feet. Fear etched Bakri’s face as he struggled to get free from Gavin’s iron grip.
“You’re under arrest, cocksucker!” Gavin said menacingly.
“I have rights!” Bakri shouted when Gavin shoved him against the wall as he struggled.
“You have the right to remain silent; you have the right to legal counsel. If you can’t afford legal counsel, a lawyer will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights? Translation, you’re going to prison fuckhead, where I’ll see to it that some Aryan infidel makes you his new bitch.” Gavin emphasized his point by slamming Bakri against the wall with a sickening thud.
It had been hell justifying an arrest warrant for a foreign diplomat. Now the man who’d hunted Bakri for over five years had just put this investigation in jeopardy by tossing Bakri around like a rag doll. They’d managed to obtain the warrant on a technicality and used Rio’s kidnapping as a secondary reason to seek the minister as a person of interest. If Gavin wasn’t careful, this arrest and all of their careful planning would be lost.
“Gavin!” she warned.
“Quit resisting arrest!” Gavin snarled as he shook him violently. There was no mistaking the fear in the minister’s eyes. He tossed the man toward Van and Alan. “Get him the fuck out of my sight.”
As Van helped the minister to his feet, he and Rio exchanged worried glances. What Gavin had done bordered on abuse. Alan snapped the cuffs on the minister and tapped Bakri’s shoulder as he nodded toward Gavin. “He hates it when people try to resist arrest. Now you’re not trying that again, are you?”
Rio had never seen anyone spin into such a rage so quickly. He stalked all the way down to their vehicle and glared as Van and Alan loaded Bakri into the awaiting Suburban. She pulled the radio from the passenger’s seat and called ahead letting the CBP field office in New York know that Minister Bakri was on his way. They got into their own vehicle and followed. She watched Gavin carefully. The tension in the car was palpable. She wondered if Danny got like this when he’d go into full-blown SEAL mode.
“So is that why they call you Badass?”
Just as quickly as he had spooled up, the storming giant had calmed.
“No.”
Chapter 22
Naval Special Warfare Command
Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, California
September 14, 2010/0045 Zulu
“I think the best option would be to wait. Now that we’ve found that collapse close to the entrance on the other side, we need to be cautious because, at this point, we’re over the Mexican border,” Major Evans said.
“Now we know why no one’s used it,” Shaq said, sitting back in his chair.
“How long do you think it’ll take to clean it out and make sure it’s stable?” the admiral asked.
“I think we can have it done by the end of the week as long as you want us to press forward. Based on observations by Marine Recon, it’s best to work during the day,” the major responded.
“How’s it looking, Reese? Your guys have been watching that area for over a month. Do you think we should use the tunnels as our primary means of getting in and out?” Rock asked.
“There are a lot of strategic options for the tunnel. Now that the team has a good feel for the area, we’ve come up with a few ideas both overland and underground. Whatever you want us to do, Rock. I wish we could get close to those buildings. How’s the intel on that coming, Dan?” Lieutenant Colonel Thompson asked.
“We can’t tell what’s going on around there, but it’s something big. Satellite picks up a fresh set of tracks every couple of days, and they look like heavy equipment. But we’ve never been able to peg when they’re going in and out and what they’re taking in there. The Mexican government is still stalling about giving up any access to information regarding that area,” Dan said.
“What kind of info are you looking for, Dan?” the admiral asked.
“Permits, any sort of request for use of the property. We’ve got the investment company who owns it working on getting the information, so it doesn’t look like we’re on to anything.”
“Rock, what do you think we should do to move forward?” the admiral asked.
“I like using the tunnels for a lot of reasons. But something tells me we’re making a mistake banking on using them as our primary option. I think we need to use them as a secondary exit and collapse them as we go.”
“It’s no secret that the cartels employ a lot of mining engineers. Some of the holes CBP have found tell us they have some of the most sophisticated knowledge and resources to go underground. I think that’s what’s going on. I think they figured out what’s there, and now, they’re trying to make it viable,” Shaq said.
“Shaq, let’s work on an alternate overland insertion and extraction plan, and make it as tight as we have this other one,” Rock said, turning to the young JG.
“Aye, sir.”
“Dan, find out what the hell is going on with those buildings.”
“Let me lend a hand, lieutenant, I know a guy with good eyes when it comes to satellite photos, and we’ll work on a recon plan,” Thompson said.
“Aye, sir. I’ll see if I can get some information another way.”
“You do whatever you need to do, Dan. I’ll deal with the politics. Take off the gloves, son, and get your information anyway you have to. We’re done playing nice,” the admiral said. “Major, is there any way the Army can drill through the mess and set up a scope or some kind of surveillance to keep an eye on the other side?”
“Yes, sir, I think Captain Jensen of the Recon team has already set that up. We did it as a precaution to make sure we don’t run into the bad guys once we break through.”
“We’ve got eyes on it Dixie; it’s being watched twenty-four/seven, and there hasn’t been any movement inside the tunnel that we can see,” Thompson confirmed.
“All right, boys, let’s get back to work, and get me a plan before I have to leave for Washington on Friday,” the admiral said.
“Congratulations on your nomination to the Joint Chiefs, sir,” Major Baker said.
“Thank you, Major. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, yet.”
Dan and Shaq got up to leave the meeting to hit it again. They’d have to tighten this plan up if they wanted Rock and Dixie to sign off on it.
“Dan, Shaq hang back a second,” O’Malley called.
They glanced at each other and returned to where the captain and the admiral were seated.
“I need you to keep close eyes and ears on this thing. I’m not allowing any ops in that region until November when Congress breaks for the holidays,” the admiral said.
“Yes, sir,” they answered.
“When I testify before Congress, I’d like to answer the questions and not have to answer for a scandal if this op turns into a clusterfuck, understood?”
“Understood, sir.”
“You boys are doing a hell of a job and making me proud, but you’re getting in a hurry. Don’t fuck this up, and listen to the old men who’ve made the mistakes you’re about to make. Take your time, and plan this thing solid.”
“We’ll watch it, sir,” Shaq said.
“We’ll be careful. There’s still a missing case of weapons that Montenegro has holed up we don’t want to risk losing, sir,” Dan said.
“I know that. I’ll let you know when the eyes in his compound find it. I don’t need you guys rushing the planning and making a mistake because you’re itching for an op, understood?”
“Understood, sir.”
“All right, get your asses back to work.”
* * * *
The admiral sat back and took a long drink from his bottle of water. He waited until the door h
ad closed, and he was alone with the man he trusted almost as much as he trusted his former command master chief. The three of them had been through a lot together. JJ and Dixie went back as far as their first op together in Grenada. The taking of the radio station at the airport had been one seriously messed-up operation, and they were both lucky to be alive. As he thought about the two men that had just left, he wondered if they were as hardheaded as he, JJ, and Rock had been back in the day.
“You think they’ll listen?”
“Those two?” Rock thought a moment as he considered the two young men who’d just walked out. “I think they will. They’re a whole new breed. They’re smarter than we were,” his captain said. Pausing, he frowned. “It’s not them I’m worried about.”
“You really don’t like this, do you, Rock?”
“No, I don’t. Something about this doesn’t feel right to me. I can’t explain it. I felt this way back in Bosnia before that op went to shit.”
“That’s the last thing I need right now, a deep black op going to shit.”
“Even if it does, I’ll make sure it never sees the light of day, Dixie. We need you to sit on the JCS. Move Switchblade over from Little Creek to take your position here. He knows the score, and he’ll do whatever you tell him to do.”
The admiral laughed. “You’ve been hanging out with JJ too long. A little over a year ago, he sat here and told me the same thing. Would you like to know where he said you needed to be?”
“I ain’t going anywhere. I like my home in San Antonio and so does my wife.”
“No, you and Anna better get used the idea of DC. If I make it, I’m making you my chief of staff.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Rock asked with wide eyes. “You don’t want to do that, Dixie. Remember that fitness report where you said I had to work on my people skills? I still struggle with that, just ask the former base commander at Randolph.”