CHAPTER 8
March 24th, dawn
A valley in the Sierra Madre Occidentals
“Shit, are those what I think they are?” Price leaned over Tweeter’s shoulder and pointed at the satellite images of El Hacha’s place just outside of Madera.
“If you think they’re SAM installations,” said Tweeter, “then you’d be correct.”
“He’s got fucking surface-to-air missiles protecting his property?” Levi sounded incredulous.
“And a nifty radar setup also.” Tweeter pointed to a building with a large satellite dish. “Not as comprehensive as my 3-D coverage of Sanctuary, but still effective.”
Shit. Damn. Fuck.
Trey clenched his jaw until pain shot through his head. Taking a deep breath and forcing his jaw to relax, he scanned the relief map he’d already scanned three times in the last five minutes. Nothing had changed.
To rescue Fee and Pia, they could not fly in close to El Hacha’s compound, hike over fairly level ground, take out a few bad asses, and then scram out of there.—What would’ve been a piece of cake op in their business.
Instead, they had to remain in this valley outside of the range of the cartel’s radar, then hike, climb, and rappel extremely rugged mountain terrain to infiltrate the cartel fortress.
Fuck, just fuck. He hated mountains—had learned to detest them after several tours of duty in the dangerous, desolate mountain war zones of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact, this whole operation to save Fee and Pia was beginning to resemble scenes from his worst nightmares of his time in Force Recon. Fuck.
“The air security also means no flyovers to get a closer look,” Trey said. “They’d shoot down an unidentified chopper.”
Hell, they’d been lucky to find this fallow poppy field in a valley merely two miles away from their destination, well, two miles as a crow flies. There was no telling exactly how many miles or how long it would take to reach the valley in which El Hacha’s compound was located. Tweeter probably could calculate how far they’d have to travel, but Trey didn’t give a flying fuck since the territory had to be crossed no matter how far it was in order to get to Fee.
“Why do we need a closer look?” Levi asked. “Looks pretty damn obvious to me we’ve got the makings of a clusterfuck no matter how we go in to get our women.”
“SSI is all about accurate, up-to-date intel. Saves lives of the operatives and any assets we’re hired to retrieve.” DJ looked up from field-stripping her assault rifle. “We’ll be going in at night, and we sure as hell don’t want to have to check every frigging building for the gals.” She looked over at her husband. “What is it, Ace … almost twenty buildings?”
“Twenty-two,” Tweeter replied. “And you aren’t going. So stop messing with your weapons. You’ll be staying with the chopper.”
“I’m pregnant, not disabled,” she gritted out. “Remember? We talked about this.”
Trey figured this would be a regular argument whenever DJ had to go in the field. At least he could end the argument before it grew more heated. “Both of you’ll be staying with the chopper. We’ll call for extraction once we have the women well away from the compound. DJ, you’ll be flying, and Tweeter will cover us from the air.”
DJ snorted. “Fine.”
“Roger that.” Tweeter patted his wife’s hand. “And, Trey, we don’t need to fly the chopper over the compound to obtain close-in, live surveillance. I’ll send in my drone.”
“Hate to tell you, buddy, but they’ll shoot that sucker down as soon as they see it,” Price said.
“Not if they think it’s a hawk,” Tweeter replied. “I camouflaged it for just such a situation. As long as they don’t know their predatory birds and can’t distinguish bird species, we’re good.”
The smartest thing his brother Ren had ever done was marry Keely Walsh, because with Keely came Tweeter. Trey knew of no other private security firm that had two tech geniuses who could translate their innovative ideas into practice.
“Do it,” Trey said. “I want eyes on that compound ASAP. It’s gonna take us hours to get there. Once we are, as DJ so rightly pointed out, I don’t want to be checking out twenty-two buildings in the dark with God knows how many unfriendlies wandering about.”
Tweeter nodded and moved to the large duffle he’d brought with him.
As the tech genius began to assemble his drone, Trey turned to Levi. “If you have any issues with slicing throats and breaking necks, speak now, because this will be a silent infiltration and extraction. We don’t want to get in a gun battle, if we can avoid it.”
Levi patted the knife in a thigh sheath. “No problem at all. How will we get the women to a place of safety? One where the helicopter can land to extract us all? I don’t see Fee and Pia climbing and hiking that kind of terrain.” He angled his head at the relief map Trey had spread out next to Tweeter’s computer tablet. “Hell, we’ll have enough trouble making it ourselves.”
DJ snorted. “Speaking on behalf of my fellow sisters … bullshit.”
“He has a point, DJ,” Trey said.
“You know better, Trey.” DJ glared at him. “Keely told me all about Fee and how—despite altitude sickness, lingering injuries from her stalker-rapist, and being scared out of her mind—the city gal did just fine helping a laboring Keely escape and hide in rugged terrain in a freaking snowstorm, and then delivered Riley in a fricking cave. I don’t know this Pia, but the gal lives in one of the most violent border towns in the States and most likely has the same kind of grit that Fee does. I’m putting my money on those two gals to do what is needed to escape.”
Levi bowed his head. “You have good points, but we have no idea what condition they might be in. By the time we get there, they’ll have been held for almost twenty-four hours.” He added softly, “Emotional trauma is a very real issue, DJ. Whatever has happened to them will still be immediate with no time for them to process and come to terms with what has happened. They could freeze at the wrong moment.”
“I know all about emotional trauma.” Her face a blank, it was DJ’s eyes that told the story of lingering pain from violence in her past. “I think you’re wrong. The instinct to survive trumps everything.” She slapped the magazine into her rifle and picked up Tweeter’s weapon and began to strip it. “I say Fee and Pia will handle it. Plus, who said they’ll hang around and wait on rescue? I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t already plotting to get away on their own. I would be. Y’all had better factor that in and be thinking about where they might run.”
“Shit,” Price said. “DJ’s right. That’s exactly what Fee would do.” He laughed, a slightly bitter sound. “After all, my stubborn-as-a-mule sister dealt with the douchebag Stall on her own. Pissed me off big time. But, hell, it showed my baby sister had guts and inner strength no one in the family even suspected she had. How about Pia?” He turned to Levi.
The frown on Levi’s face said it all. “Yes, Pia has the same kind of stubborn strength. That woman has kept me at arm’s length for months, even though I’ve offered time and again to shoulder her and her mother’s burdens. Pia’s survived living with her drug-trafficking father and her no-good, cartel-wanna-be brother. She’s seen violence and its aftermath first-hand every day. Yeah, she’d be planning an escape.”
The consensus that the women would try to escape struck fear into Trey’s heart. He didn’t want to think about Fee fleeing into the treacherous wilderness surrounding Madera.
Dammit, Fee, you have to know I’d come get you. Stay put, little doc. And if you can’t stay put, stay safe. I’ll find you no matter where you are.
“Fuck. Just fuck.” Trey looked at Tweeter, who had a halfway realistic-looking hawk drone ready to go. “Get me eyes on that compound. I’ll want reports hourly, more often if you see any activity that might indicate they’re moving the women or that the women might’ve escaped.”
Tweeter nodded.
“Price, Levi … load up.” Trey eyed the other men. “Check yo
ur coms.” Each man clicked their headsets. “Right. Let’s go get our women.”
Levi emitted an ululating war cry that echoed off the steep mountain walls surrounding the isolated field. He shrugged at the startled glances he received. “Apache war cry.”
Yeah, it was war.
“Hoo-rah,” Trey shouted. Price added the SEALs battle cry, and they were off. Each man carried eighty pounds of gear and weapons. While they might now be civilians, they’d been trained by the best armed forces in the world and had reached the elite status of Spec Ops. They were warriors honed in battle.
El Hacha’s people wouldn’t know what hit them.
****
After breakfast, El Hacha’s compound
Anton held onto Fee’s arm and put on a good show of assisting her to his clinic. An armed guard was about three yards behind them.
“Lean on me and don’t forget to cough now and then,” Anton muttered. “We can talk now. The guard does not speak English well, plus as long as we keep our voices down, he won’t hear anything to memorize and repeat to Chavez.”
“Are you going to help me and Pia?” she asked, matching his tone and volume. Then she coughed, her breath frosty in the cold mountain air.
“Yes.”
Fee’s knees went weak with relief and she stumbled. Anton swore and shifted his arm around her waist, but kept them moving toward the small building where Aznar had been taken last night before.
“Your friend is in more danger than you,” he muttered close to her ear. “Chavez is giving her to his men. Tonight, they will fight to win their position in line to rape her.”
“No-o-o,” Fee moaned and latched onto the arm Anton had around her waist. Just as she thought her fake illness had bought them both some time, the rug was pulled out from under her. “Has she…?”
She couldn’t finish the sentence. And where in the hell was Pia’s worthless brother while all this was happening?
“She is fine … for now. She is under guard in the clinic and being forced to nurse El Hacha. Our patient is not doing well. He will be air-lifted to Mexico City soon.”
“Pia—”
“Shh. I will have her moved to the main house to nurse you through your illness,” Anton said. “It should buy her some safety until the fights tonight. Chavez will never back off his promise to his men. He often buys their continued loyalty in such a way.”
“Thank you.” Fee couldn’t help the quiver in her voice. He was putting himself on the line for them. “How can I ever repay you?”
“No, thanks are needed.” Anton lowered his voice even more. “And I will be calling in repayment immediately. I will help you escape this evening before Pia is endangered. All I ask is that you take my pregnant fiancee Lucia with you. No one here knows about us. I must get her away before anyone learns of our love.”
She looked up at him. “Of course she can come with us. But what about you?”
“Do not worry about me. You three are more important. Lucia and I have prepared a hiding place for just such a day. I will remain in the compound until your men come to rescue you.” He added darkly, “If they come.”
“They’ll come.” Fee took in his frowning countenance. This man didn’t have much faith in his fellow man. There was a story there, but it would have to wait for another time. “I expect they’re already on their way.”
“How would they know where to look?” Anton inquired.
Her lips twisted into a slight smile. “I left them clues. They know in general where we are and who has us. The company my…”
What was Trey? Boyfriend seemed too tame.
“…man owns with his brother has intelligent community resources. He’ll probably know within a half mile or less where I am.”
Anton’s expression was questioning and more than a bit skeptical. “Then as soon as they arrive, I will lead them to you and Lucia … and we’ll all escape Mexico together.” He stiffened and Fee realized the guard was closer than before. “Fall down,” he hissed.
Fee pretended to trip over her feet, and Anton scooped her into his arms. Over his shoulder, he ordered in perfect Spanish, “Fool, she has fainted. Run ahead and open the door.”
The man hurried to do Anton’s bidding.
Anton followed the man at a steady pace. He whispered against her ear. “See the small building to our left? Closer to the trees?” She found it and nodded. “At eight o’clock this evening, you and your friend will knock out your door guard then inject him with a light anesthetic I will provide you. Then you will escape out of the back of the house. The security lights will be out. Lucia and I will meet you at that building. She will lead you to some ancient cliff dwellers ruins about a mile from here. You will be safe until I lead your men there.”
“Won’t Chavez suspect your involvement once he discovers Pia and I are gone?” Fee whispered.
“No. There will be an outside distraction.” Anton stopped speaking as they approached the guard holding the door open. He instructed the man, “Stay here and keep everyone out.”
The guard nodded and closed the door behind them.
Anton walked to the end of a small hallway and placed her on an exam table in a room set up as a small lab. He shut the door and locked it. “I sweep for bugs every day. We can speak here.”
“The distraction … what is it?” she asked.
He pulled the portable X-ray over to the side of the exam table. “After you join up with Lucia, you will wait at the meeting spot until Chavez and his men pursue a vehicle that will tear out of the compound around eight o’clock also.” He lips thinned. “Pia’s brother will lead Chavez and his men out of the valley while you hike to the cliff houses.”
“But that’s … that’s a suicide mission,” Fee stuttered, a sick feeling in her stomach. She didn’t like Ernesto, but she didn’t want him dead. She didn’t want anyone dead. “Will Ernesto have any chance of getting away alive?”
“First, Ernesto came to me. This was his plan.” Anton shrugged. “He is aware of the risks and will take every precaution to remain alive. He is cunning, that one. He has plans to cover his escape by faking his death. He has money and weapons. He knows how to live off the land. Eventually, he will head for an obscure border crossing and re-enter the U.S.”
“You believed him? Trusted him?” she asked. “You don’t think he’s setting a trap?”
“Yes, I believed him. He was sober for a change. His voice rang with truth when he admitted he was ashamed of his actions. Said he’d never have led Chavez to you if he had known Chavez would bring you both here and hand his sister over for a gang raping.”
“He should’ve thought of that before,” Fee snarled. “Before he endangered both of us.”
“You are correct, but I take it he was high on drugs at the time.”
Fee nodded.
“His brain was not processing.” Anton shrugged. “As soon as Ernesto came down and realized what was actually happening, he knew he had to get both of you away tonight.” His face darkened. “I’ve treated the women who’ve managed to survive being used by these animals. Several committed suicide. Others have tried to escape and were killed. Others are imprisoned here and still being treated as sex slaves.”
Fee shuddered and couldn’t help recall the first moments after Stall had beaten and raped her; she’d considered ending it all. The pain and degradation had thrown her into a deep, dark pit of despair. But the will to survive and sheer Teague stubbornness had her fighting back.—Yes, she’d run clear across the country and had abandoned her home and job, but it was what she had to do to come through the darkness and out the other side. The process of rebirth had taken her months, aided by the patient, long-distance wooing of a real man, a good man … of Trey.
Silently, she vowed to find a way to help the women being kept here against their will. But she could only do that after she escaped.
Anton patted the table. “Lie back. Let me take an image. Your lungs did sound a bit congested, maybe due to the
change in altitude. Since this is digital, I can enhance the image to cloud your lung in case Chavez asks to see.”
Fee lay back on the table. Remembering the delivery of Keely’s baby in a cave, she wondered if history would repeat itself this evening with Lucia, but this time without any of the equipment and modern conveniences SSI considered essential for a cave on their property. “How far along is your Lucia?”
“Three months. Do not worry. She is very healthy. We need to leave Madera before she begins to show.” Anton positioned the unit for a PA chest view and retreated behind the windowed-lead panel and took the image, which immediately showed up on a computer monitor on the counter. “She is El Hacha’s niece.”
Fee inhaled sharply. “Well, hell. That complicates things.”
“Yes. He doesn’t know we are in love. He thinks she is still a virgin.” Anton’s love for Lucia was evident on his face, in his voice.
He walked to the computer, tapped some keys, and moved the mouse around a bit as he continued with his story. “I met her in Mexico City where I did my residency. She came into the ER while I was covering for a friend. She had a nasty cut. She’s a chef and had sliced her thumb instead of a tomato. We dated, fell in love, and had planned to get married when her uncle called her home for a family emergency.”
Anton’s face turned dark with anger. “Her uncle had arranged her marriage to one of his men. Thankfully, the man was stupid and got himself killed by an irate father of a young girl he’d raped. But Lucia was stuck here. Her uncle saw her as a bargaining piece to buy loyalty among his lieutenants. We couldn’t chance him finding another marriage candidate, so I came to Madera and started a clinic. I made sure I came to El Hacha’s attention. He sees himself as a feudal lord and was easily convinced he needed a personal physician. So here I am.”
An Ill Wind Page 9