Divide & Conquer

by McDonald, Murray

  As Sean offered to take James from the soldier, he was handed a cell phone instead.

  “Sean,” the voice was very weak but Sean recognized it straight away.

  “Vincent, how are you?”

  “More worried than I have ever been in my life!” he replied.

  “Jesus a heart attack isn’t going to kill you,” laughed Sean.

  “Not me you idiot, Mike’s just taken me through his findings and he was right, we are fucked. You need to get back here asap before you head to Moscow.”

  “I’m going to the beach, V. trust me I deserve it.”

  “Sean, this is about you!”

  “About me?”

  “Have you ever heard of Dr Joseph Mengele?”

  Chapter 63

  Sean knew the name. Hell, everybody recognized the name but what the hell did it have to do with him? Vincent wouldn’t explain any more over the phone. Sean was just to get to Langley asap.

  “Grab some of those Lexuses, we need to get to the airport,” shouted Sean.

  As they careened their way down the hill, the Team Leader contacted his counterpart at the airport to tell them they were on their way.

  James was laughing and bouncing on Sean’s knee as the Lexus clambered over the rough terrain. Their off-roading abilities were severely impacted by the weight of their armor.

  As they neared the outskirts of the city and bumped onto tarmac, the ride improved, as did the speed of the small three-car convoy. The heavily laden Lexuses were not the most agile but on a straight road and given space, the speed certainly did improve.

  “I’ll pass you over!” said the Team Leader, handing his headset to Sean.

  “Where are you?” asked a voice Sean recognized.

  “About two minutes out,” he replied, as the fencing surrounding the airport came into view. “Who is this?”

  “Agent Smith,” replied Agent James Smith who had met Sean at the airport the previous day. The sound of gunfire at Agent Smith’s side of the conversation interrupted the introductions.

  “Turn around, it’s not secure here!” Another burst of gunfire highlighted the point perfectly.

  As Sean looked towards the access road to the airport, a convoy of pick up trucks was leaving, all filled with men carrying weapons.

  “We’re leaving now!” shouted Smith above the engine noise of the aircraft. “We’ll pick you up at Laredo!” he managed before the line went dead.

  Sean watched as a jet shot down the runway.

  “Turn around!!!” he screamed as the first bullets began to ping off their armored plating.

  James laughed as the bullets pinged against the windshield in front of him. Sean took him off his lap and handed him to the agents in the back where he was promptly strapped in.

  Sean looked back as the chasers closed. The Lexuses were too slow. Their only hope was to get to the border before the pursuers got through their armor.

  As they turned onto another road, two trucks barreled towards them. Their only option was to turn down another road, a narrower road where even more armed men lay waiting.

  “What the fuck is going on?!!!” screamed one of the agents, verbalizing what everybody else was thinking.

  “They’re corralling us to where they want us!” realized Sean. This was one very coordinated and impressive maneuver.

  With each street, the chasing pack became larger; it was like some weird 'B’ movie where everybody had been infected by a homicidal virus. It seemed every living soul in Nuevo Laredo was determined to help kill them.

  “Split up?” asked Sean to the team leader.

  “Worth a try,” he replied and barked the order to the other two cars. At the next junction they split three separate ways. Sean watched as each and every car ignored the other two Lexuses and followed his.

  “Shit!” he exclaimed, much to James’s amusement and warning that Mommy would be angry. Sean didn’t feel she’d be overly concerned given the current circumstance.

  As they rushed towards another junction, another makeshift roadblock was forcing them right. The truck that blocked their way had left a small gap at the rear.

  “Keep going for that gap and hold tight,” ordered Sean.

  “That gap’s half the width of this car!” shouted the driver, in a panic.

  “Yep, and hit the gas,” screamed Sean.

  They hit the truck and spun it out of the way. The weight and momentum of the Lexus were too much for the empty truck.

  “Jesus, if that had been fully loaded, we’d be dead!” screamed the Team Leader at Sean in frustration.

  “And the back axle would have been riding much lower,” replied Sean confidently. Although he had no idea how low or high the axle rode on that truck. He just knew they were no longer going where the pursuers wanted them.

  The road sign indicated 2 miles to the border. Sean looked back and could see that their maneuver had generated a little extra distance between themselves and their pursuers and hopefully enough to see them to the border.

  “Fuck!!!” screamed the driver, standing on the brakes.

  Sean whipped round as the Lexus struggled to stop against the momentum it had built up. The queue of traffic stretched off in to the American distance.

  Sean yanked the steering wheel to the left and the Lexus bounced across the median to the oncoming lanes, empty thanks to the closed border. The driver floored it again. As Sean checked behind them again, the pursuers remained close behind. They were going to follow them all the way. Sean suddenly realized that there was no guarantee they’d actually stop at the border.

  “Shit!” the driver shouted as he once again applied the brakes.

  Sean turned expecting a queue of traffic, instead it seemed their pursuers had upped their game. The sight of a helicopter hovering ahead was bad enough but the two ominous pods protruding from either side had even the heavily armored Lexus petrified. The rockets would tear through it like a hot knife through butter.

  “Fuck!” he added much to James’ amusement.

  He watched in the mirror as the pursuers stopped a couple of hundred yards back, clearing the way for the helicopter. It really was a proper Mexican stand off thought Sean. Before he had a chance to crack a joke, the Team Leader was handing him his headset.

  “It’s for you!” he said.

  Sean took the headset and popped in the earpiece.

  “Where are you?” asked Smith.

  “In a bit of a situation at the moment!”

  “We’re at Laredo, you need to get your ass here. I’ve to get you to Washington yesterday!”

  As Sean kept an eye on both the chopper and the pursuers, he noticed the trucks and cars filled with gunmen began to close the distance. As they neared, so did the chopper. They were moving in for the kill.

  “Any idea why everyone wants us dead?” asked Sean. At least he could die knowing why.

  “About 25 million!”

  “Sorry?” replied Sean. They didn’t know him well enough, even people who knew him for a lifetime couldn’t think of that many.

  “Dollars. The new boss of Los Zetas it seems is very upset with you!”

  “Shit!” shouted Sean as the rocket pods lit up on the chopper and began to spew their deadly fire. However, instead of tearing them apart, the pursuers began to explode in his mirrors.

  “Jesus!” shouted Smith through the headset. “What the fuck is that?”

  Before Sean could answer. “Is that the gunship the Mexican army sent to help you?” asked Smith.

  “Floor it,” screamed Sean to the driver and thirty seconds later, they entered US soil, under the protection of the Mexican army gunship.

  Chapter 64

  James raced across the tarmac and jumped into Katie’s arms, the tears streaming down her face as she almost squeezed the life out of the son she feared she’d never see again. She mouthed a thank you to Sean who bowed his head as he accepted her gratitude. As Sean made his way to one of the sitting jets, James disengaged from
Katie and raced to join him. “Where are we going, Daddy?” he asked as though the previous few hours and months had never happened.

  Sean looked forlornly at Katie who stood next to a team of agents who were sworn to protect Katie and James until the US Marshalls who were relocating her to Austin arrived.

  Sean lifted James in his arms and took him back to Katie.

  “Daddy needs to go to work baby, he’ll be back soon!” promised Katie, a tear ran down her cheek which Sean wiped away carefully.

  He leant forward and kissed her on the cheek and James on the forehead, before turning and rushing back to the waiting airplane.

  “Be safe!” shouted Katie.

  “Come home soon Daddy!” shouted James.

  Why the fuck didn’t I just go the fucking beach, thought Sean as he boarded the plane, trying desperately not to look back. But couldn’t not. He had to see them one last time.

  “Lovely family!” offered Smith as the aircraft door closed.

  “Yes,” replied Sean returning James’ excited wave. The poor boy had lost his dad once and he had just lost him again. Having lost his own dad he knew how hard that was going to be.

  “We should arrive in Washington at around midnight local time. I’ve to get you straight to Langley from there. Is that OK?”

  Sean nodded, as the jet rushed down the runway and Katie and James disappeared into the distance. He was surprised just how much of an impact that was having on him.

  “Drink?” repeated Smith, having been ignored on the first asking.

  “Sorry, yes please.” Sean shook himself back to the real world.

  Smith gave him the drink and after two sips Sean was sound asleep. He woke with a start four hours later with Smith staring at him. “Are you ok?” he asked.

  “Fine,” replied Sean defensively, his body was covered in sweat.

  “You were moaning and squirming in your chair,” offered Smith as an excuse for his concern.

  “You ever heard the name Dr Joseph Mengele?” asked Sean, realizing Smith was on his side.

  “Sure, Angel of Death, wasn’t he?” replied Smith, referring to Mengele’s nickname from Auschwitz death camp.

  “Well I just dreamt I was on his operating table!” replied Sean, even mentioning it caused a cold shiver to pass through him.

  “Welcome to Washington,” announced the captain through the tannoy system, thankfully interrupting the conversation.

  As the plane stopped, the steps were lowered, a car pulled up and the door opened to reveal an elderly gentleman.

  Before Sean had a chance to exit the plane, another two cars approached at speed and cut in front of the original car. The doors burst open and four men jumped out, their badges in their hands and held aloft.

  “Sean Fox, FBI, you are under arrest!” informed the agent, who, Sean assumed, had the greatest seniority.

  The elderly man stepped forward. “What in the hell is the meaning of this?”

  “This is FBI business, Sir, please stay back,” instructed one of the agents as two of his colleagues placed Sean in handcuffs.

  “That man is helping us on a matter of National Security,” he protested.

  “You are?”

  “Mike Ritter, CIA!” replied Mike forcefully.

  “He’s on the list,” shouted one of the agents leading Sean to one of the FBI cars.

  Mike was promptly arrested and both were transported in separate cars back to the FBI’s field office.

  The first sign that things were seriously worrying was the line of cars outside the FBI office. It would have looked more appropriate at a movie premier. Despite their limitless resources, Sean was certain that chauffeur driven limousines had not become the new fleet car at the FBI. There was some serious muscle inside the building and it was almost midnight. Not good.

  Sean was shown straight through and placed in an interview room. The sound of raised and exceptionally angry voices echoed down the corridor and as the door closed, they instantly stopped. The room was very well sound-proofed, another bad sign. He looked up at the camera that watched him. The table and four chairs. The red light was extinguished. The recording had been stopped. He tried to check the time but his hands were still cuffed behind his back. He closed his eyes. He may as well take advantage of the downtime he thought.

  Obviously that wasn’t what his captors had in store. No sooner had he closed his eyes than the door burst open and two exceptionally pissed off suits stormed into the room.

  “Do you have any idea what you have done, Son?!” demanded the grey haired suit slamming his hand on the table.

  “Become the most wanted man on the Los Zetas Cartels hit board?” asked Sean.

  To say that took the wind from their sails was an understatement. Neither had considered the position he had ended up in himself, just the impact his plan had had on their investigations. Both knew just how vicious and ruthless Los Zetas were and neither would want to spend their lives in Sean’s shoes with the bounty on his head.

  “Hi, I’m Sean,” Sean pushed his shoulder out in place of his hand that remained cuffed behind his back.

  Both interrogators looked at each other and shrugged. “Jack Anderson, DEA,” and pointing to his colleague, “Howard Franks FBI,” replied Jack, taking a seat.

  “You realize you have broken God alone knows how many federal laws?” asked Howard taking the seat next to Jack.

  “I also saved a little boy and his mom from some very dangerous men. And not forgetting ridding you of the Los Zetas crime boss,” confirmed Sean, adding up the positives.

  “The only problem with that is that his replacement is far more worrying, I’d take El Jefe over Juan Torres every day of the week,” replied Jack, adding, “And let’s not forget, you’ve exposed every ongoing investigation into the East coast crime bosses and their families and given those same crime bosses direct access to the Los Zetas cartel. Which will increase their profits and ultimately their power.”

  “You have set back our war on drugs by years!” argued Howard. “And somebody has to pay!” he added looking directly at Sean.

  Sean was confident it was all bluster, just to put CIA back in their box. He really didn’t have time to listen to anymore.

  “Charge me or release me!” he said with real conviction, confident of the latter.

  Howard stood and shaking his head left the room. One minute later, he returned with two other officials, one from Homeland Security and the other from the US Marshall’s office.

  Homeland got to go first and the list of charges was impressive. The US Marshall was next. Sean thought their exclusion from the initial meeting gave them both first dibs. Five minutes later and with the four law enforcement agencies wrapping up their list of charges, the door flew open. An unsteady and less than healthy Vincent Black stood in the doorway. There was a man that Sean had not seen so pissed off since Sean had totaled his car when he was eighteen.

  Sean sat back. Vincent on a roll was a thing to behold and he was about to rip these guys some new assholes.

  Vincent turned to the law officers. “Gentlemen, would you mind giving me a moment with Sean,” he asked very politely.

  Sean also noted that he had said Sean, not his agent, not his man, Sean.

  Vincent turned to Sean and let loose a torrent abuse that between the f’ing this and f’ing that he struggled to actually work out what was being said. One thing however was very clear. He was not on Sean’s side and in Vincent’s own words “he would be standing back while he was prosecuted to the full extent of the law!”

  With that, he stormed from the room and all but removed the solid soundproofed door from its hinges, as he slammed it behind him.

  Sean sat totally bemused by what had just happened and began to consider the distinct possibility that he may be spending the rest of his life in a federal penitentiary. He began to wish he had just gone to the… but stopped himself. He was happy he hadn’t. He had saved Katie and James’ lives. What would be, would be.


  ***

  Vincent plucked up every ounce of strength as he walked from the room housing Sean to the room watching Sean. It was the who’s who of law enforcement bosses right up to the Attorney General. Jesus, he thought. Jane and Sean had really pulled something off. He could hardly get these guys in the same room after 9/11 and certainly not in universal agreement.

  It took just over thirty minutes of begging and promising before Sean would be released into his custody. With the express guarantee that if Sean were not produced after his mission, Vincent himself would accept all of Sean’s charges and simply plead guilty. As utterly ridiculous as it sounded, it seemed they were deadly serious and were not budging unless Vincent accepted.

  As he walked Sean out by the arm, still in his cuffs, Sean couldn’t help but notice how much Vincent was using Sean’s arm to stay upright. Mike joined them as they walked out and seeing Vincent struggle, took his other side and helped him into the waiting car.

  Sean waited for another tongue-lashing but it never came.

  “Sorry about that in there!” offered Vincent, catching his breath.

  “Not at all, I knew you had to,” replied Sean and received a look from Vincent that reminded Sean who he was trying to bullshit.

  No one in the world could read Sean as well as Vincent and no other man on earth could put the fear of God into him.

  “OK. OK. I thought you were being legit,” accepted Sean, embarrassed.

  “I knew I had you going, I haven’t seen you that worried since you crashed my car! I even thought your lip started to quiver!” teased Vincent. He was getting his strength back and the lighthearted banter was helping.

  “It is going to be a problem though. They are seriously pissed off with you and have decided that you,” he looked at Sean, “are going to take the blame.”

  “You can sort it out!” replied Sean confidently.