by David Nees
“Roger Abrams, my boss, wants to talk with us. This morning.”
“But he’s your friend. He’ll work with us, won’t he?”
“He wants the full story and then I may have to talk to the DDO, Garrett Easton.”
“Holy shit,” Jane exclaimed. Everyone will know about this before the day ends. Henry, this will get taken down before we get off the ground. All our hard work for nothing.”
“Maybe, maybe not. It’s certainly not a good start, but not impossible to patch over. Roger’s not happy but he’s going to be on our side. He just wants future missions to not impact the State Department. He thinks he can convince Garrett to let us ride this out. Garrett’s an old Soviet hand, worked with Roger over there. Roger says he still understands what needs to be done.”
Jane just shook her head. This was not the way she imagined; the first mission blowing up into a media storm and one of our embassies raising hell. She realized the program could be sacrificed to make peace between State and the CIA.
“When do we meet with everyone?”
“Roger will be down here momentarily. I wanted to prep you. After we three talk, I’ll go up to see Garrett.”
The sun slanted into the hut waking Dan. It was already pretty high in the sky. Tlayolotl was up and making an herb drink. Dan got up, stretched and went outside to relieve himself and splash water from the pond on his face.
“Your ankle?” Tlayolotl asked as he came back in.
Dan hadn’t even thought about it when he walked outside. “It’s fine. I didn’t notice it. What you put on it worked. You could make a lot of money from that poultice.”
Tlayolotl ignored the comment. He handed Dan a cup of the herb brew. “Drink this, it will strengthen you.” He then started cooking some flat corn meal cakes on the fire. When they were done he handed one to Dan with some honey spread on it. Dan accepted the food and ate the cake hungrily. All the while Tlayolotl watched him.
When they were done eating, Tlayolotl spoke. “There is much to tell you today and much to show you. Your mind will want to put up barriers to what you see. It will raise questions like before. Questions that serve no purpose but to let you put what you learn into a box. You can’t put aside what you will learn today. If you do you will be no help.”
“I am willing to listen and to learn…to try to understand. Just like I told you yesterday.”
“You may not understand even if you hear and learn. Can you accept that?” Tlayolotl’s eyes burned into him.
“How can I help if I do not understand?”
“You will see if you are willing.”
After a long moment of silence, Dan answered, “Okay, I’m willing.” He didn’t know where all this would lead, but he felt he had already jumped down the rabbit hole and following this old shaman’s plan was the only way out.
Tlayolotl began. “You accept the fact that you are here. You accept the fact that I saw you coming, falling out of the sky, that Raven and I found you and saved your life twice. I heard Rita speak to you. You did not tell me any of this, yet I know it. You can’t understand how but you believe because you are here and not dead somewhere in the desert.”
Dan stared hard back at the shaman who seemed to be waiting for an answer.
“Yes,” he finally said.
“Good. Now last night I ate the peyote. I went into a trance and Raven left. You saw that. What you didn’t see is that I left with Raven.”
Dan felt the obvious question arise in him even as the shaman put up his hand, anticipating it.
“Don’t ask. Hear and learn”, he said. “My spirit went flying with Raven. We located the darkness. We also located the man you will need to help you in your mission.” Again he raised his hand to keep Dan silent.
“I am a Watcher. I told you that before. There are many of us around the world. We can see the battles going on in the spirit world, battles using humans for their purposes. We see what is behind what you see with your eyes.
“You have a different role to play. You were hired by the lady up north to fight enemies. She was correct in choosing you, but she does not fully understand your role and the full dimension of the battle. This is my task. To show you the full importance of what you do. And to provide you with what help I can.
“But what am I to do? I completed my assignment from Jane. I even killed more bad men than she directed. I’m on my way home now.”
The shaman shook his head as he looked down at the dying embers of the cooking fire. “I told you, she doesn’t see the full extent of the battle. This battle between good and evil between the forces of dark and light must be played out. I watch. I guide. Jane, the lady you talk of, she directs against the foe she doesn’t fully understand.
“You,” he leaned forward and pointed his finger at Dan. His eyes lit up as though a fire burned behind them. “You are the tip of the spear in this battle, the sharp end that thrusts into the enemy. You are the warrior who delivers the blows in this world that push back the spread of the evil.”
Dan stared, riveted by the shaman’s eyes and the force of his voice.
“That is why you must experience what most gringos cannot handle. You must come with me to see. You mission here is not yet over. You must strike again at the darkness I found.”
“So I’m not going home? Will I ever get back home?”
Tlayolotl shook his head. “I told you I don’t read the future. If you are smart, yes. Much depends on how well you learn.”
Chapter 24
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B ack at the CIA headquarters Roger opened the door to Henry’s office without knocking. He looked like there was a storm brewing in him. Henry got up and waved him in and to a seat across from Henry’s desk. Jane sat in a similar seat near the other corner of the desk.
“Good to see you Roger,” Henry said, shaking Roger’s hand. “You know Jane Tanner. She’s been instrumental in getting this project off the ground and picking our first operative.” Roger sat down without shaking hands.
“So, give it to me straight, from the top. I’ve got to talk to the DDO later. I kept you out of it. I’ll handle that conversation but I need to know everything. I can decide what to tell Garrett, we can have that candid a conversation. But”, he leaned forward towards Henry, “I can’t get blindsided by this.”
“Understood,” Henry replied. He turned to Jane. “Fill Roger in on how you found Dan.” He turned back to Roger, “You might as well get the beginning of the story as well.”
Jane went through the narrative of how she became aware of Dan and the steps she took to connect with him and help extricate him from the trap he had found himself in. Roger said nothing but occasionally snorted at some of Jane’s more egregious actions.
“Jesus, you played things pretty loose there,” He said after Jane was done talking. “Are you always so dismissive of rules and regulations?”
Jane shook her head. “No sir, but Dan seemed like an extraordinary find and I needed to take some risks to get him out of his situation.”
“Henry, did you know all of this as it was going on?”
Henry paused. He had been kept in the dark, but he didn’t want to compound Jane’s transgressions any further. “Yes. She kept me informed along the way.” Jane gave him a grateful look.
“So, you approved her actions,” Roger said.
“I never disapproved them, to be more exact. Jane knew what she was doing and had her end of the situation under control. We could bail out and withdraw at any moment without a trace.”
“Except for the FBI agent,” Roger said.
“We had him compromised. He would never turn us in,” Jane said.
Roger turned to her. “That’s another stepping over the line by you. Just what kind of a cowboy are you?” Roger replied. He turned back to Henry, “Henry, you can’t run a black ops this fast and loose. Damn it, you’ll get us all burned.
Henry gave Jane a sharp look to keep her from responding.
“All ri
ght,” Roger continued, “tell me about this Mexican caper and how it turned into a shit storm.”
“It was to be one man, Jorge Mendoza, the head of the Sinaloa cartel. We targeted him because he was working to organize the other cartels and make peace with them. We felt this would only increase their effectiveness at compromising the Mexican government and would increase the flow of narcotics to the US. In addition, we learned that Mendoza was linking to al Qaeda, possibly to smuggle operatives into the US along with increasing his drug supply connections. Al Qaeda has been involved in drug smuggling for funds and we know how the Soviets worked for decades to smuggle drugs into the US.”
“I’m aware of what went on with the Soviets through their satellites,” Roger said.
“Anyway, that was our tipping point. Why we set up the assassination of Mendoza as our first operation.” Jane went over how they dropped Dan into the desert and how he had hiked to the mesa rim and completed his mission.
“Somehow the exfiltration went wrong. It got compromised and I’m afraid the people sent to collect Dan may have been killed. They haven’t been heard from since they left to pick him up.”
“So Dan is sent to do a single assassination, a surgical strike. And he turns that into a massacre of some other drug dealers, causing a major upset in the government and maybe starting a war between the cartels. And now his pick up handlers are MIA.”
“That’s about it, sir,” Jane replied. “He has the ability to improvise and for the missions we’ll send him on that’s a necessary trait. I think he saw the opportunity to take out more of the drug leaders to create more havoc.”
“He certainly seemed to have done that. But you don’t know how the exfiltration got botched.” Roger said.
“We don’t know. We suspect there may have been a leak. We did have to tell the embassy to arrange the pickup but they didn’t know why. We don’t yet know what happened. Only that the two men sent to retrieve Dan and take him to an airport are missing, as is Dan. For all we know he could be killed or captured.”
“Let’s hope not the latter,” Roger said. Jane gave him a quizzical look. “He would tell what he knows. Everyone does eventually under torture. And the cartels know how to torture people. If he’s dead, his secrets die with him.” Roger looked straight at Jane. “He’d be dead either way.”
“But he could still be alive,” Jane said.
“Why hasn’t he called in, used the satellite phone?”
“Battery dead, or he suspects a leak, a compromise, and thinks he can be found if he turns on the phone? There are many possibilities,” Henry offered.
“Fruitless to pursue while we know so little. And the embassy knows nothing?”
Jane responded. “Only that we needed an operative picked up at a certain point and delivered to the airport in Hermasillo.”
“So what are you going to tell Garrett?” Henry asked after a long pause.
“As little as I can. He’s got the Office of General Counsel nosing about. The man has to respond to the State Department which has their panties in a wad. They’ve lost two men who worked for them. At this point we can stonewall since we really don’t know much. But,” Roger put his hand on Henry’s desk, “we’ll have to acknowledge some kind of operation in Mexico.”
“Information gathering?” Jane offered.
“Hard to maintain that position since they claim to have found where the shooter hid. It definitely had the stamp of a sniper assassination,” Roger said.
“But the site was clean of any clear evidence of shooting,” Jane said.
“Roger let’s stick with the information story for now and buy some time until we know more about what’s happened to Dan,” Henry said.
Roger sighed and stood up. “I’ll try. You know Garrett and I have a long history. I’ll try to keep him and the OGC off your backs.” He got up from his chair. “But if this gets over to Inspector General’s office, you’re fucked. Let me know when you hear any more.” With that he turned and left.
Chapter 25
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Y ou are going to have to eat the peyote buttons. Most gringos cannot do this, it makes them sick.” Tlayolotl was preparing the cactus buttons and heating a liquid over the fire. “You will drink something that will help you keep the peyote down.” He turned to Dan. “Can you do it?”
Dan nodded. “I’ll try.”
“You must do more than try, you must do it. To go on a spirit journey and get sick or lose your nerve is bad. You might not get back and you make danger for Raven and me.” He held Dan’s gaze in his glowing eyes.
The shaman was more animated now, his movements quick and sharp. He seemed to lose years as Dan watched him in his preparations.
“We will be on Raven, you will feel the bird. His strength will carry us far. You must not panic or you will fall and be lost. You are safe on the bird. He will get you back. Without Raven, you will be lost to wander forever seeking the body you left. That is what it means to go on a spiritual journey.”
Dan’s face must have betrayed his dismay, for Tlayolotl added, “I will help you to not fall, but you must look and learn from what you see.”
Tlayolotl lit the brush and the aromatic odor began to fill the hut. He took his eagle feather and wafted it through the smoke and over his body. He then began a series of chants and incantations. It was the same set of actions he had done before. After he finished, he began to chant over Dan, waving the feather over him, pushing the pungent smoke over him. Tlayolotl then took some of the water from the spring and wiped Dan’s head and face as well as his hands. When he was done, he had Dan drink the strong liquid. Dan almost threw it up but managed to control his gag reflex. After drinking the concoction, Dan felt a numbness spread over the mid-section of his body.
“It will help keep the peyote down,” Tlayolotl said when Dan gave him a quizzical look.
By afternoon Tlayolotl had completed his preparations. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Dan just nodded.
“Good. Now come, sit up on the mat.” Tlayolotl reached down and picked up the bowl full of peyote buttons. He handed one to Dan. “You break them apart and chew and swallow them.” Next Tlayolotl picked a button and broke off some. He put one in his mouth and chewed it quickly, swallowing it before Dan swallowed his piece. “Don’t take time, chew and swallow. Let the peyote get into you, cleanse you and give you the vision. Drink from your cup if your mouth gets dry.”
The procedure was repeated over and over. Dan worked to control his gag reflex. The peyote was the worst thing he had ever tasted. It had an overpowering bitter taste that lasted long after the cactus was swallowed. The active ingredient in the peyote was mescaline, a psychedelic alkaloid similar to LSD. The native Indians in Mexico have used it for over five thousand years.
Finally Tlayolotl sat back and closed his eyes. He began to chant again, his body rocking back and forth. Dan sat watching, waiting for something to happen. How would he know when Tlayolotl went on his raven flight? How would he go with him? Did he have to do anything? Worry crept in and he fought it back. Don’t go paranoid now. He sensed that could be disastrous.
Dan looked over at Raven who now stirred on his perch. The room began to move, almost undulate. Suddenly he was looking down at his body from above. He saw himself sitting next to Tlayolotl. Dan fought down a sense of a panic. He was not acrophobic but this was different. He felt separated from his body. He sensed the shaman floating next to him.
Dan heard him say, he couldn’t tell if it was out loud or in his mind, “Climb on Raven’s back.”
There was a pull and then he felt himself swoop out of the hut and into the afternoon sky. His panic now increased. He could feel the strong muscles of the bird propelling the wings. They thrust them through the air. He felt a strong hand gripping him.
“Hold tight.” Tlayolotl’s voice came into his head, clear and strong. As they gained altitude, Dan began to settle down with the shaman’s strong gri
p supporting him. He began to feel connected to the bird. He could now understand how they moved so quickly through the air. He could feel the forward thrust of the wings that propelled the bird forward as well as gave it lift. He could feel the energy of it pulsing through him. He sensed the bird’s mastery of the sky.
At a couple of hundred feet Raven began to glide, seeking out updrafts to maintain altitude. Dan began to feel giddy with delight as his fear abated. The bird began to course back and forth, as if on a survey, looking for something or someone.
“Look sharp,” Tlayolotl said.
Dan focused on the ground. Under a rock overhang he saw a man sprawled on the ground. He looked to be dead or near dying. Raven circled and dipped lower until they were only fifty feet above the figure. The man finally looked up as Raven’s shadow passed over him.
“You will save this man from dying. He will owe you his life, as you owe me yours. He is going to help you on your mission.”
“How can I find him again?”
“Raven will lead you. Tomorrow you will depart.”
“So what am I to do?”
“I will show you,” Tlayolotl answered and immediately Raven stroked his powerful wings and gained altitude. He then glided off to the south.
“Where are we going?”
“Chihuahua City.”
Dan “sat” on Raven as the bird played the air currents, using its wings only when necessary, and kept gliding south. They ate up the miles. Dan’s mind was overwhelmed with the wonder of what he was experiencing. Was he still back in the hut? Was this just a hallucinogenic dream? He couldn’t tell. The feeling was so real—so immediate. There was nothing to connect him back to the hut. He could tell nothing beyond the fact that he seemed to be on the back of the raven with Tlayolotl’s presence and grip still holding him. The desert skimmed below them. As he accepted what his senses told him, he relaxed and drifted off. Suddenly Tlayolotl’s grip tightened and he was pulled up and jerked back to the present, to being on the back of the bird. He had almost fallen off, as if he had gone to sleep.