by J P S Brown
"He plays a lot of golf, so he’s in good enough shape to go out and get his ass shot off. He can probably dodge a bullet, because he hustles these gamblers around our golf course and has to be ready for the day they’ll get mad and try to shoot him."
"Nobody’s going to shoot him, Mona."
"You too. You’re too old to go on raids. You’re just old geezers. When will you realize that?"
"Aw, us old geezers know everything and everybody else don’t know nothing. Nobody’ll even see us. We get up too early."
"Well, you’ll have to get up real early slow and crippled as you are."
"We’re not crippled anymore. I’ve got a new titanium knee and Jackie Lee told me he has a new fused backbone."
Kane explained the situation to Buck and the Brennans, and before he began to outline the plans for the raid, Billy and Joe excused themselves and stepped out of the room to talk. After a while they returned to say that if they were to help the partners, they would have to follow an established protocol with their colleagues and counterparts in the Mexican government. Billy and Joe would have to notify the Mexicans with whom they had worked before that the raid was planned. Besides that, all arms and explosives for the raid would have to be procured through their Mexican counterparts.
"Is there a chance your colleagues will leak our plan to the Lupinos?"
Kane asked. "Because if there is, I'm not telling them a damned thing. I can buy the weapons and smuggle them in myself."
"This will not be the first time a secret, clandestine raid has succeeded in Mexico, nor will it be the last," Billy said. "A lot of Mexican and U.S. government people are connected with the drug lords, people who would warn the Lupinos to put up a barricade and give us a big surprise, but our contacts are not among them. This will be about the twentieth raid of its kind, except that this time it will be done by private entrepreneurs, instead of agents like Joe and me and our Mexican friends. If we do right by our Mexican counterparts, the raid will be kept secret. Joe and I have both engaged in this kind of action in Mexico before."
"This raid has to be kept secret," Kane said. "We have to use equipment and ammunition that can’t be traced to us, and we have to get it in time to make the raid during the dark of the moon. Today is the first of July. We’ll go on a night in early August."
"We’ll get Russian arms and explosives," Joe said.
"We can do that?"
"Hell, yes. We can get anything we want from Brazilian dealers who furnish it to drug traffickers. We’ll have to furnish our own communications equipment, but that’s the only gear we’re allowed by protocol to bring into the country. We can also get damned good American equipment from our Mexican friends that can't be traced to us."
"We have money from a horse race we just won, but we’re not rich. We need to know how much it’s going to cost."
"The weapons, ammunition, and explosives won't cost anything. The communications gear we bring from the U.S. might not, either."
"How can that be?"
"Just leave the acquisition of the gear to us," Billy said. He looked to Joe for confirmation and was given the nod. "You give us the chore? Then let us do it our way and stay out of it."
Billy and Joe insisted that they needed a spy inside Lupino’s camp. They felt that no operation of this kind should be attempted without one.
"What do you think, compadre?" Kane asked Vogel.
"Someone like Martinillo might take a radio and spy, if we absolutely need that," Vogel said. "But why do we need it? Martinillo gave us a good report. We’ll never get anyone at La Golondrina to spy for us. The Lupinos have enjoyed sixty years of rock-hard security. Every person who works for them has been there all his life."
"I don't think we need anyone inside," Kane said. "We’ll go as a tight unit in the middle of the night, scout as we go, hit them, and take flight."
"If we go by the book, we need to have a man inside. Nobody inside, no raid," Joe said.
"Well, none of their workers or family would betray them, and we don't know anybody on our side who has their confidence," Kane said.
"How did you match your horse race?" Joe asked. "Did you call the Lupinos by telephone? Did you send them a letter? Did you meet them someplace? Do you ever go there, or is that out of the question?"
"It would not be out of the question for my compadre Vogel to go, but they’d be suspicious if I did. After all, I whipped one of the sons until he peed his pants and cut off his bastard half brother’s nose and ears."
"How about if we go to don Nesib with a gift to show that we don’t suspect him of having any part in the kidnapping?" Vogel said. "What if I go kiss his ass and make him think we still want to be his friends? I bet he’ll like that right about now. He’s always liked us. He’s probably worried that his grandsons caused him to lose our friendship. After all, he’s lived up there for sixty some years with no other friends except the Vogels and Kanes."
"That's true," Kane said. "But I have an idea that will make us look stupid and forgetful that we have been wronged by the Lupinos and also get us back in their good graces. We hold a ticket that opens almost any door in the world."
"You want to give him Gato so he can breed him to his donkeys and raise hinnys," Vogel said.
"Compadre Juan, we have Jack Brennan, the world famous movie star. Let’s tell Lupino we want to make a movie about his horses. If that doesn’t disarm Ibrahim and the old man, because they seldom go to town and haven't been influenced by the movies, it’ll get the attention of Fatima, Jacobo, Rafa, and Ali. We’ll have a good reason to visit their ranch, and they’ll have a good reason to let us. Fatima has probably hoped for something like this all her life. Almost everybody has a weak spot for the movies. I know Fatima reads movie magazines and if that doesn’t show a weakness for them, nothing does. If the old man won’t let us on his place to film his horses and make them famous, Fatima might welcome us with all her heart and soul. Rafa’s supposed to be a moviemaker, so we ought to be able to hook him with Jack as our bait. Jacobo must know about the money that movies generate, so we’ll make him the producer. The prospects of fame for their horses and the movie money it will generate, combined with their having lack Brennan as a guest on their place, might get you and Jack inside the enemy camp."
"I can’t imagine the old man allowing a movie to be made on his ranch. It’s been a fortress of secrecy for sixty years," Vogel said.
“What’s his weakness, compadre?" Kane asked. "How do we get in? If we make him a gift of one of our horses, he’ll take it and say thank you and good-bye. His weakness lies in what he wants for his daughter, his grandkids, and his horses. He’s seen to it that they’ve never wanted for anything. Let’s see if we can fix it so his daughter and her kids invite you and Jack to La Golondrina at the time we hit La Culebra. Another thing, if you and Jack are with Lupino when we make the raid, how can he suspect us?"
"A movie project would certainly be a good reason for some of us to be at La Golondrina at the time of the raid," Joe said. "Lupino is not likely to believe that Vogel’s associates would raid his property if Vogel and my dad are his guests when it happens. The raiders ought to be able to communicate with Vogel and my dad, though."
"Why is that necessary?" Kane asked.
”Just in case something goes wrong," Joe and Billy said in unison. "That’s up to you guys who know spy technology," Kane said.
"Right now, I want to call Fatima and tell her that a moviemaker friend of ours wants to make a picture about the purebred Arabian cow-horses on exotic La Golondrina ranch. I’ll ask if we can bring him there to discuss it. What do you think Jack? If she doesn’t drop her drawers and melt all over the floor at the prospect of meeting and working with you, my name ain’t Jim Kane."
"It’s a good idea," Jack said. "I’ve never known a son of a gun in this world who wouldn’t like to see a movie made about his life, his family or his business."
"Flatter Lupino’s horses and he forgets he’s the patriarch of the d
irty deal," Kane said. "Everything gets pure, innocent, and true for him when somebody brags on his ranch and horses. What do you think, compadre?"
"It might be the only way to get inside and stay awhile," Vogel said. "He might not let us take pictures of his ranch and livestock, but he’ll want to listen to praise for his horses. By his own rule of hospitality he almost has to take us in and give us all his attention while we’re there. We won’t have to be there long, and we don’t even have to spy on him, but we can be a hindrance if he finds out about the raid and tries to stop it."
"You’ll be his hostage instead of his guest if he finds us out."
"If that happens, we can make it so hard on him, he’ll pay you to take us back," Vogel said.
Jack laughed and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Shall I call Fatima and make the proposal?" Kane asked.
The partners all nodded their heads.
Kane telephoned Fatima in Huatabampo and switched the receiver to a loudspeaker.
"Hello, dear," he said, the Judas. "I just called because Vogel and I have been worried about you."
"I’m as well as can be expected. How is your grandson?"
"He still has a bad infection."
"And you? Have you calmed down?"
"I’m at work again. We have to find vaqueros and move cattle off the ranches. Is it ever going to rain?"
"When will I see you again? Come to Huatabampo. Bring your grandchildren and stay as my guests at the resort. All young people love the beach. Let’s be friends again, like we used to be."
"I’m your friend, Fatima. That hasn’t changed." He looked up and saw Vogel roll his eyes and the other partners grin. Even so, everybody was soldier enough to keep quiet.
"That’s good, but friends should pay each other frequent visits, not just once or twice during their lifetimes, as you and I have."
"Well, that’s the reason I’m calling. My compadre Vogel and I wondered if we could visit La Golondrina in the next few days. A boyhood friend of mine wants me to take him and his son to Mexico to make a documentary film about Arabian horses. I could think of no better parada of Arabians in this hemisphere than your father's. I know La Golondrina is a private place, but I thought my friend should see your animals and interview don Nesib and Abdullah. I know you’ll love this man."
"Your friend is a filmmaker? Do you know that film is my hobby? What’s his name?"
"Well, he hasn’t made a name for himself as a filmmaker, but he has as an actor. I·Ie’s Jack Brennan."
"You mean my Jack Brennan? The Jack Brennan?"
"Yes, the famous Jack Brennan. The one who starred in The Outfit."
"Jim, I Iove that man. I’ve seen every one of his movies. Where is he?"
"He’s right here. Want to say hello to him?"
"Wonderful."
Kane handed the phone to Jack. "Say hello to Fatima," he said. The man put on such a dazzling smile that Kane was sure that it warmed Fatima’s loins straight through the telephone wire all the way to Huatabampo.
"Ay, compadre Jim. No tienes perdón. This time God will not pardon you," Vogel said.
Fatima called back the next day to tell Kane that she had arranged for Jack Brennan’s visit to La Golondrina. Billy Buck took an airliner south to inform his contact in the Mexican government about the raid and to obtain weapons and explosives.
Kane and Vogel and the Brennans flew to El Trigo and were met at the airstrip by Che Che with saddle horses and mules. He brought Gato for Kane. Jack Brennan had been raised in Oklahoma by a cowboy uncle. Because of his prowess as a horseman, his first television role as a youngster had been as the second lead in a western series. During that era of the popular Hollywood Western, actors were required to know how to ride. Directors and producers were not patient with actors who did not look good on a horse.
Joe Brennan knew little about a horse. He was athlete enough to get along with his mule Paseador, but he suffered as he learned to ride. The ride from the airstrip to La Golondrina was a hard one for anyone, and Kane imagined that Joe underwent absolute torture. However, even though every step of the trail was rocky, steep, and uneven, the young man made no complaint. Kane and Vogel stopped often to rest the tender butts, so they arrived at La Golondrina late in the evening. When they topped La Golondrina Pass they saw that every room in the hacienda was lit up. Two lighted oil lanterns hung for the visitors from the roof of Toribio’s ramada at the promontory entrance. Generator-powered electric light flooded the yard. When his guests reached the cornfield, don Nesib signaled for the ranch’s band of musicians to play and sing "La Golondrina"the song of the swallow.
"Dammit, it’s too bad this old man’s outfit kidnapped my granddaughter, because he’s a chivalrous son of a bitch," Kane said under his breath.
"Just remember how the girls looked when we broke into that studio," Vogel said.
Kane was in the lead with Vogel. He stopped to speak to his partners before he could be heard by the Lupinos. "Whatever we do, we can’t say anything to each other in privacy that we don’t want the Lupinos to know. Eavesdropping is their favorite pastime. They’ll listen to what you do in the bathroom. If they hear you talking in your bedroom, they’ll plaster themselves against the other side of your door to listen. They’ll spy on you. They figure you belong to them while you’re here. They live out here in isolation for months at a time with no guests or visitors. They figure it’s their right to find out everything they can about you and no rule of etiquette inhibits them. They’ll come into your room while you're asleep and listen to you snore if they want to."
The visitors rode up to the front of the hacienda and were formally invited to dismount by don Nesib. He took hold of Gato while Kane dismounted. This surprised Kane. He had expected at least some petulance from the old man for the way he had savaged Rafa, but he shook Kane’s hand, then Vogel’s, then turned toward the Brennans to be introduced. Fatima came forward, embraced Kane and kissed him on the cheek, did the same with Vogel, walked up to Joe Brennan and introduced herself in Spanish, then smiled close enough into Jack Brennan’s face to kiss him. She took charge of Jack and went arm in arm with him into the house ahead of everybody else. She spoke good English, although with a nice, thick Mexican accent, and she looked beautiful. Don Nesib led them into his living room and gave them drinks.
Kane saw no signs of fatigue or pain in the Brennans. Jackie Lee Brennan might look and act as fancy as any actor in Hollywood, but he was tough and brave as a wood hauler. He and Kane had spent their boarding school childhood together laughing one minute and bawling the next. The bawling had been for real hurt, because a boy did not cry frivolously in that place. Somebody had to hurt his heart or his carcass a lot to make him cry. Laughter came easy and filled every other minute. Boxing, football, and bare-knuckle fights behind the gym made them tough. They watched each other when they made tackles in football and jumped all over each other when they missed. They remained friends through every kind of adversity. If they got mad at each other, they knew that sooner or later they would be thrust together in the ring, the place where all differences were resolved. Every bout in the ring was a formal event, an all-out contest, and no place for frivolity. No quarter was asked or given, but all differences were resolved once and for all.
Kane was glad to see that Joe Brennan was another Jack, as tough and smart, as full of the blarney as ready to laugh after twelve hours on a mountain-climbing mule, and too proud and dignified to admit that he was sore. In the warmth of fellowship and comfort of don Nesib’s front room, Kane felt contented. His friends were with him and even his enemy was acting like a friend. What better enemy could a man have than one who feasted and serenaded him?
Kane felt that this first phase of the raid on the Lupinos could not have gone better. Kane and Vogel had breached the fortress with four men and the enemy was glad to see them.
Without Rafa to disgrace them, the Lupinos might not be any more evil than anybody else. Kane and Vogel were
not angels. They certainly were not easy on people who did them wrong. In business they did their own kind of pirating. They just thought they had more style than other pirates. In their minds they sometimes did business that might be called bad, but they didn’t think they ever did anything that was evil. A rapist cannot show any style, but a pirate has a chance to show a lot of a kind that people admire. The partners' kind of pirate could be chivalrous, generous, and gracious as they took daring risks to rob a rich man of his goods, cattle, horses, and crops. He could be generous with his gains and look good as the devil. The devil at least knows how to show the right amount of style, when he needs to. When he does not, he looks like Rafa.
Two big swallows of mezcal on top of a twelve-hour ride landed inside Kane’s gizzards with the right kick. Now he would be graciously given a feast and a serenade by his enemies and looked upon with affection. Awful nice for a pirate to have everything his own way. Nice to be comfortable and content while he cut off the ears of evil bastards who deserved it.
Ali was the only Lupino grandson not present at the supper table. Nesib explained that Ali’s patients demanded his dutiful presence at Tucson Hospital. Rafa wore a docile smile and a closed mouth. Kane kept his mouth closed too. He did not want to listen to himself that evening, because he did not like the sound of a hypocrite.
As usual, Vogel spoke as the friendly neighbor, always saying the truth and never being a hypocrite. The Lupinos had become so ingrained with success that they were sure no ax of retribution would ever fall on their necks. Juan Vogel was the one person who could drop the ax on them in a style they liked.
Vogel was used to being called on as an executioner. Anytime someone in his family found a viper under an armload of stove wood, they ran and got Vogel to chop off its head. Anyone who knew him could be certain that the blade he used would be sharp and he would be brave. Vogel was adept at chopping off heads with kind efficiency and he hardly ever scared his victims. When Kane needed a horse castrated, he called on Vogel. When he needed a beef’s throat cut, he called on him. Anytime the community needed a sharp knife or an ax for an execution, it called on him. He executed with style and compassion and always soothed his victim before he applied the blade with verve and awful force.