The Cartel
ENFORCERS
by
C.L. Swinney
Published By:
RJ Parker Publishing, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1503149878
ISBN-10: 1503149870
THE CARTEL ENFORCERS
Copyright © 2014
by C.L.Swinney
United States of America
License Notes
* * *
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold or given away to other people. Please respect the author’s work. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written authorization from Chris Swinney.
This book is a work of fiction
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.
Chapter One
* * *
Two blacked-out SUVs converged on the well armored Mercedes being recklessly driven by Pedro Munguia. Unrelated vehicles careened off the highway as the pursuing SUV drivers patiently waited for Pedro to make a mistake. His mind raced as he frantically attempted to call his wife using the Bluetooth attached to his ear. However, fleeing from the bounty hunters he and his friends called the “Cartel Enforcers” made it near impossible to drive and dial at the same time. Pedro couldn’t decide which was more important, retrieving his semi-automatic handgun, or calling for help. In a split second he decided his wife’s and daughter’s lives were more important to him than his own. He discarded his hand gun in the front passenger seat and kept repeatedly pressing the redial button to his home phone number. When he finally got through, the message told him the line was no longer in service.
“It’s too late!” Pedro screamed while swerving his vehicle.
Desperation sunk in. Pedro assumed the men chasing him had already had their way with his family based on the disconnected phone line at his home. Plus, the only way anyone would have figured out where he had been hiding was to beat it out of his family before killing them. Now, once the killers pursuing him caught him, they would extract whatever they could from him through torture. Then, they would kill him too.
Pedro bellowed, “Raphael!” and tried to maintain control of his vehicle while dodging his pursuers.
Pedro cursed one man for all the dread falling upon him now; Raphael Sanchez. He believed Raphael set him up and now he owed more than $500,000 in cash to the largest Hispanic sleeper cartel operating almost undetected in the United States. A family so well connected by being infused into the local infrastructure of San Diego, and having more financial resources than imaginable, Pedro was certainly doomed and had nowhere to run.
His life was falling apart in front of his eyes, and he couldn’t do a thing about it. He was just a small-time crook in the eyes of law enforcement and he had no idea that he was being used to track a much larger fish who’d recently been given up by Jim “Blood Hound” Calhoun. Calhoun had been snared in the largest narcotic seizure ever recorded in the Bahamas and had given up the Hispanic sleeper cartel responsible for the Tijuana-San Diego border in an effort to avoid a death sentence. When faced with certain death, most criminals tend to drop the tough guy persona and throw any and everyone under the bus.
Pedro briefly relived the deal with Sanchez in his head, how he simply brokered a minor change in the original deal to add 50 kilos of cocaine to the order, added a few points to make his standard profit, and that was it. On the surface it was like the hundreds of deals the two had done over the last ten years.
It didn’t matter now. As a group of Enforcers was hunting Pedro in the cars that chased him, one thing was certain; he would pay the monetary debt with his life. Ordinarily, Pedro would have tried to reason with the killers, but not this time. Pedro was mortified because he didn’t have enough money to buy the men off and there was no way they’d deal with him. Compounding the drama was the fact he had learned just prior to picking up the tailing killers that he had been labeled as an informant for the police. Pedro was arrested during a recent drug bust at the Tijuana border as the load he brokered was headed into San Diego. He was released just seven days after being caught with 100 kilos of cocaine. People began to talk and speculate how he got out so quickly. Before too long, he was labeled as a snitch. All of these thoughts caused Pedro’s mind to spin out of control.
The SUVs easily closed in on Pedro as the traffic began to get congested. Pedro hoped he could make it to the safe house in Temecula, CA. He drove in a zigzag fashion and made it appear as though he was passing the next off ramp and at the last second, he stepped on the accelerator and veered hard to the right. One of the SUVs made the same aggressive maneuver and clipped the back of a large pick-up truck. The pick-up truck tumbled over and over until it landed halfway on the concrete barrier separating eight lanes of rush hour traffic. Dust and debris covered the freeway as multiple accidents began to occur.
Both Pedro’s vehicle and one of the SUV’s wobbled and swerved as they tried to keep their wheels on the asphalt. The driver of the first SUV over corrected his steering just slightly and the tires grabbed asphalt causing the SUV to flip violently down the freeway. One of the would-be killers was ejected from the second SUV bore down on Pedro and he felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
Pedro quickly abandoned the notion of making a final run toward the safe house for two reasons. He didn’t want to give up the location of the safe house in case he somehow survived this ordeal, and he knew he did not have enough weapons at the house or the training to fend off a SUV full of Cartel Enforcers. Pedro looked up into his rear view mirror and could see the massive wreck the SUV and pickup truck created, but did not have a moment to be relieved as he saw the final SUV maneuver in time to miss the wrecks and catch the off ramp he had barely managed to take.
Pedro’s vehicle and the trailing SUV crashed through poles and blew through intersections with no regard for the citizens around them. Pedro looked to his left and noticed marked police units converging on his location. Pedro had always despised law enforcement but he thought being captured by the police now would be the only way he would survive. For awhile, he mused. It was not a comforting feeling because once the cartel members figured out another way to get at Pedro, which they always did, he was dead.
The driver of the SUV seemed to anticipate what Pedro was thinking because the vehicle lurched forward as the driver mashed the accelerator in an effort to get to one side of Pedro’s vehicle. Pedro sped past a bus depot as buses slowly rolled out of the massive lot right in front of him. Pedro was dodging between pedestrians and buses trying everything he could to lose the looming SUV.
Two buses collided making it impossible for Pedro to go forward. He frantically looked for a way out. Suddenly in his peripheral vision he noticed the SUV was clearing the rear bumper of his car. Pedro tried to move away but the driver of the SUV pushed the right rear quarter panel of his Mercedes causing Pedro’s vehicle to crash into a telephone pole. Glass and twisted metal flew everywhere. Pedro was stuck in the front seat of the car pinned firmly by the air bag and seat belt.
Through a trickle of blood Pedro could see two marked police cars closing in on him and he felt some small sense of relief. Moments before they arrived, Pedro watched as the SUV carrying Cartel Enforcers got in between him and the two police cars. The police officers observed the SUV’s aggressive move and slammed on their brakes.
They radio
ed for back up and positioned themselves to use the front of their cars as cover. No one had time to think.
Gun fire erupted as two men dressed in black BDU’s (battle dress uniforms) slowly exited the SUV with AR-15 assault rifles and opened fire on the two police officers. High velocity rounds shredded the front of the patrol cars but could not penetrate the engine block giving both officers time to shoot back and look for cover. Both officers had previous combat experience in Iraq, but were still caught off guard by the level of skill possessed by the urban guerillas firing on them now. The men from the SUV continued shooting at the officers until they ran out of bullets from their first magazines. In unison the men released the magazines, flipped them around, and slammed them back in the rifle. The officers were out matched. As they frantically tried to unlock their patrol rifles, a frightening reality set in. Both cars were without power now causing the locking mechanism holding the rifles to stay locked.
One of the officers got hit in the leg from a ricocheted round and yelled to his partner for help.
The second officer saw his partner go down to the pavement. His urge to help his fallen comrade compelled him to leave his position of cover in an attempt to help pull his friend out of the line of fire. At the same time the two shooters snickered and while the moving officer attempted to use suppression fire to fend off the shooters, they shot him several times. Despite his severe injuries, the officer, spiked with adrenaline, was able to return fire long enough to get he and his partner behind the patrol car. After doing so, the officer collapsed and lay motionless.
Once the two officers appeared no longer to be threats to the mission, a third man, the driver of the SUV, exited the vehicle. Together, all three men began jogging directly toward Pedro.
Pedro frantically searched for his firearm and began praying. He violently pulled at the seat belt as he pierced the air bag with a small pocket knife. Out of nowhere Pedro heard small caliber rounds and could see them hitting the SUV and the ground near the advancing Cartel Enforcers. One of the three Cartel Enforcers doubled over and Pedro could see blood spewing from the area near the man’s neck. The man toppled over and fell dead to the ground.
The remaining two Cartel Enforcers began returning rounds in the general direction of where they thought the rounds were coming from and ran back toward the SUV to use it as cover. At the same time, Pedro was freeing himself and had located his firearm. Pedro was very good with a gun. He began squeezing off well placed rounds toward the two remaining Cartel Enforcers in an effort to confuse them and he hoped to keep them at bay.
Sirens and the melodic sound of helicopter blades spinning through the air were getting louder which meant they were getting closer to Pedro. One of the Enforcers began shooting toward Pedro’s location while the other one shot at an unknown target to Pedro’s left. Almost immediately he felt intense burning pain in his arm. Pedro ripped his shirt to wrap around the wound in an effort to control the bleeding. However, he was still losing a lot of blood and was feeling faint. He tried to get up and realized his leg was broken from the crash. The pain caused him to see white spots and yell loudly. Desperation filled his mind as he realized the small caliber fire had ended and both Enforcers were now filling his Mercedes with high-powered bullets.
So much for negotiating, he thought. Whoever hired the gunmen meant to collect his debt with blood. He could see the Enforcers were communicating to each other with hand signals. Each one took turns cautiously poking their head around the front of the SUV to see Pedro’s location better. After the third time, Pedro heard two loud booms from what he thought was a high powered rifle. Instantly he saw both Enforcers bodies fly violently backwards as their upper torsos exploded from the impact of large caliber ammunition.
Moments after Pedro saw this, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder and he quickly swung around with his firearm in his good arm. He saw the man had a gun in his hand and a police officer shield hanging from a necklace around his neck. The man appeared to be screaming at him but he couldn’t hear a thing as a result of the deafening nearby gunfire. With the disabling ringing in his ears and confusion, Pedro slowly began fading away.
The man continued to yell at Pedro while easily disarming him with a quick hand-strike to his wrist causing the firearm to drop from his grip. The man quickly disabled the weapon and threw it into the middle of the street. Pedro was in tremendous pain and truly had no idea what the hell had just happened.
He faintly heard the man yell, “Off duty officer!” He calmed down as he realized the man was there to help him, not kill him.
In the distance, police cars were driving all over and sirens dominated the scene. Pedro was slowly getting his hearing back as he thought about his wife and child. He wondered if he would survive his bullet wound and leg injury.
He grabbed the elbow of the man who had helped him and asked, “Who are you?”
The man chuckled and replied, “My name is Bill Dix and you just cost my partner and I another damn vacation!”
Pedro whispered, “Thanks Bill Dix,” and lost consciousness.
Chapter 2
* * *
Raphael Sanchez glanced down at his Breitling watch and snorted in disgust. It was five minutes past the time the hired hit men, a group his generation called Enforcers, should have called him. This particular group had been used several times before and had always followed orders precisely. They always called Raphael on a throw away phone to report the results of the ordered hit. The Enforcers knew not to be late. Raphael’s frustration turned to anger as he realized he was going to have to report to his boss, José Calderon, and he had nothing of consequence to provide.
Sanchez walked into the living room and poured a large glass of expensive scotch. As he scrolled through the contacts of his primary cell phone to retrieve José Calderon’s number, he flipped on the television.
Raphael calmly sipped his scotch and noticed every major news channel in the San Diego area was reporting an officer involved shooting with three people dead including suspected hired hit men. The incident had occurred near Temecula. For Raphael, this type of chaos and killing was nothing new to him; however, as the story came to a conclusion something caught his attention.
One reporter mentioned that a man, who appeared to be the target of the intended murder, was actually rescued and was being treated for serious injuries at an undisclosed location.
Raphael slammed his drink on the table as his cell phone began to vibrate and ring. The incoming caller ID read, “Gringo,” which was code for José Calderon.
Hesitantly, Sanchez answered the phone.
José Calderon simply said, “Location number three in thirty minutes.”
Raphael was wise not to respond. The irritation in Calderon’s voice was stinging.
Before hanging up Calderon added, “Don’t bother to run Raphael, we know you’re home and we have your brother.”
Upon hearing this Raphael slammed his cell phone on the ground and began to curse at Calderon.
Chapter 3
* * *
Miami Dade Police Department Narcotics sergeants Steve Petersen and Bill Dix were smack in the middle of an officer involved shooting three thousand miles from home. The scene was somewhat surreal as one moment the two detectives were driving south toward San Diego to catch a Padres game and next they ended up in a fire fight, taking the life of several suspects, and saving a man.
Petersen checked the vital signs of the two shooters laying next to the SUV while Dix checked on the third shooter. All three men were dead.
Dix yelled over to Petersen, “The locals will be here any second. Make sure your badge is showing and toss your weapon in the middle of the street.”
Just as Dix finished the statement three patrol cars came to a skidding halt right in front of him as he was tossing his gun to the center of the intersection. They jumped out of their cars and were screaming at them to get down and to keep their hands where they could see them.
Petersen was natu
rally loud and his adrenaline made his voice even louder.
Petersen yelled, “We’re cops!” We’re cops!”
Dix followed suit, “We’re not armed, and we’re cops! We’re cops!”
Numerous other police cars came pouring into the area as well as K-9 officers and a police helicopter. Dogs were barking, the local officers pointed their guns at Dix and Petersen, local residents were arguing with the responding officers, people filled the streets with their cell phones recording everything, and the loud public address system of the low altitude Sheriff’s Office helicopter was demanding everyone to go back inside.
Dix had been in several hairy situations working undercover for many years but based on the facts in front of him, he wasn’t sure how the local officers were going to deal with him. One thing was clear, the more they all argued the longer it took for the two downed officers to get medical attention. Dix decided this would be his out.
Dix complied with the orders of the officers as they slowly moved toward him and Petersen.
He yelled out and motioned with his head toward a patrol car, “You have two guys hit behind that patrol car, and they need attention.” He was very careful not to move his hands.
Petersen figured out what Dix was doing and was close enough to read the name plates of the two officers lying on the street.
Petersen yelled out, “Officer Smith and Officer Billings are right here but they need medics ASAP.”
The two officers were in serious pain and losing blood. One of the officers winced and sat up briefly. He was able to describe Petersen and Dix as law enforcement officers by saying, “They’re blue!” before falling over.
The advancing officers ordered life flight medi-vac for the wounded officers and handcuffed Dix and Petersen based on the fact they really had no idea what exactly had unfolded prior to their arrival.
The Cartel Enforcers (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 2) Page 1