by Tom Ellis
“I knew Havelee had a good reason for poaching you.” Desmond offered.
“There is something else we are missing?” Ivalou offered.
“What?”
“Remember the first time we visited Carson Bell. He told the story of the horse and dog that showed up. He said Miguel moved those animals to another part of his ranch. And he mentioned leasing part of the ranch with a small house on it. And when we were canvassing we stayed away from locked gates. Could it be possible a black ops team or some of these border watchers are staging out of that leased area?”
“That is the Double B Ranch northeastern casita. It was once only a line camp. Now it has a nice barn; the line shack made into a two-room cabin. Senor Bell leases it to people. Most are artists, or even some wanna-be cowboys and ranchers. He will lease it for as little as month or even a year. Whatever the client wants.” Ernie said.
“Damn, it’s good to have a homeboy on our team,” M&M said giving the high five to Ernie.
“OK, maybe Quarles knows by now when that Aerostat balloon goes down. Let’s work these shelter leads so we can get back to the San Rafael.” Havelee said as she got up.
“Ivalou you work with Ernie. I’ve got to go to a supervisors meeting at the Field Office.”
Later, dressed like FBI agents again and riding in Vargas Bu-car, she queried Ernie some more.
“You said the casita has a barn. Would that be a good place to hide a horse like Hamilton had?”
“Si, someone would have to feed it. You are referring to Don Cameron of Lochiel. Only a top notch horseman can handle that animal. The dog, Jazz, is a champion herding dog, a border collie. He can move an entire herd of cattle by himself. Cam and Jazz are an inseparable team. Only Senor Lyon Hamilton could handle them together. An only Senor Lyon could ride Cam. I know the horse has thrown TR, and he has thrown three of my brothers.”
“Has he thrown you?”
“Noooo, Ivalou he’s not thrown me.’ Ernie said grinning, very proud of himself, ‘because I have more sense that to try and ride him.”
“Ernesto you are too much.”
“Si, I can be hard to take. But I’m worth it.”
The last remark prompted Vargas to display her middle finger.
“Oh, you hurt a young vaquero such as myself.”
“Ernie you’re full of shit.”
The elation of Havelee’s team in finding a new investigative approach was short lived. El Jefe’s Iranian bomb maker blew up an apartment building in Tucson, in a Hispanic populated neighborhood. Every available FBI unit went in that direction. Breaking national news was telling of the tragedy before Ivalou, Des, M&M and Ernie arrived on the scene. The White House resident assured the country with a classic statement, ‘let me be clear, our borders are secure.’
Jolene and Andy watched the news on the motorhome satellite system. “Do you think El Jefe is behind this one?” She asked.
“I would bet on it. And I believe El Jefe has middle eastern contacts that built the bomb. If the locals can dig deep enough, they will likely find that apartment building housed gang members families. Mexican drug lords and terrorists like to remind those who are against them of their long reach.”
“There had to be children in that building. Don’t those people know that?”
“Yes, and it makes a bigger statement. It also provides an opportunity for the weak sisters to capitulate to the demands of the terrorist organization. Based on what we have seen coming into the Rocking H Bar and their prayer rugs, there is a bigger attack planned. The snakes in the bunk house and their AK47’s have slowed that down some. And this last bomb is likely retaliation, but it could be a draw off, a maneuver to divert attention from the main event. The General send me a secure text saying the Aerostat balloon comes down for maintenance in forty-eight hours. I expect we will see an increased activity at the Lochiel border crossing and a low flying helicopter from the south.
“Then it will be time to stop this crap. The black team is awaiting the call. The General is not happy with the FBI Director. Next week the trips to his mistress and his relationship to a former Presidents shady dealings and subsequent cover-ups will be leaked.”
“I would hate have the General mad at me.”
“All he could do to you is have IRS audit your taxes every year and get an undercover game warden to follow your bass boat around.”
“Such a dull life. And then I took up with you. Let me check this email message that just came up.”
Burns watched Jolene as she read the message. “This is interesting. One of Lyon Hamilton’s credit cards has just be used to pay the past due satellite TV and internet bill at the Rocking H Bar.”
“Sounds like Bradford’s thugs are getting bored.”
“Well, there is one of them I don’t think watches cartoons.”
“Have you noticed him outside since we got the women out?”
“No, only Bradford, Kroll and the palooka looking dude, alias Numb Nuts, wonder how he got that handle. I haven’t seen any Mexicans or jihadist either. I think they buried all of them.”
“I expect Pauli Dumas is still on injured status. Kroll was working over his package with a cattle prod with I got to them. And I hit Dumas a hell of a lot harder than I hit Kroll.”
“Lyle Thigman would appreciate your prowess using his blackjack.”
“I wish there had been time to make a eunuch out that pervert.”
“What are your plans when the balloon goes down?”
“I have an observation point on the Rocking H Bar, due north of the headquarters. I’ve used it a few times. I will move in there and watch. I will move Reid’s team into the positions they used before. The biggest thing is catching El Jefe on the ground. He won’t fax us his itinerary. I will lay there and wait for him to show up.”
“I know Burrito and Buddy are busy for the next couple of days. I’m going with you. Get used to that idea.”
“The only shade will be a camo net over us. And we will be laying on a tarp. Down on the ground with the snakes and the critters. You will need extra computer batteries and a black cloth to cover any light reflecting off that screen. Your personal hydration device with two extra bladders of water. Bring plenty of energy bars and beef jerky. If you don’t want to squat on the ground, go to the store and buy some Depends. You will need your Glock and plan to carry one of the AR’s with extra ammo. And it’s all got to be in one small pack.”
“I expected a plaid picnic blanket and a basket.”
“Plan on being out there two days. Before we leave, this rig has got to be unhooked and ready to move the minute we get back. I will take care of that. We’ll park the ATV's in the barn. I will let Miguel know he needs to feed Don Cameron and Jazz. I will tell Carson Bell we are going to take RV on a trip. And extend our lease the Casita.”
“I gather once we do whatever we do over there, we leave ASAP. Are we coming back?”
“Yes. When I don’t know.”
“What about the Citation?”
“It will be ready when we get to the airport. I plan on taking this rig over to Bisbee for an overnight, then up to I-10 and loop back to Nogales. I will continue to rent the hanger and store this thing in it until we can come back for it.”
“It sounds like a plan, except for the Depends part.”
“I’m going to take Don Cameron out for a ride.”
“Now that the feds have left I’m going to drive ATV over and visit with Estella. Are you planning on taking Don Cameron and Jazz when we go on our deployment?”
“I’m considering it. There is a copse of cottonwoods around the position. I doubt El Jefe’s pilot would notice a horse on a high line in there. That is where we are going to hide the ATV.”
“Sounds good, it looks like Kroll is going out patrolling on the ATV,” Jolene said as she checked the camera feeds. “And Carson Bell is enjoying the company of his adopted granddaughters.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
With some sensitivi
ty returning to his testicles, Porn Dude was in need of a sex fix. The internet like the satellite TV was off due to nonpayment. Dumas begged his boss to have it turned back on, and Bradford was having none of it. Porn Dude found Lyon Hamilton’s credit card numbers on some old statements. It wasn’t the bosses or Pauli’s money, so what the hell. Dumas paid the bill with one of Hamilton’s card numbers and ordered up a few porn flicks.
The next morning Pauli Dumas was surfing the net for anything sexual in nature. He heard Kroll leave on the ATV. It was an excellent opportunity to get even for the damage to his still back and blue balls. Porn Dude went to Kroll’s room and began to search it methodically. It didn’t take long to find the hidden cell phone. Pauli quickly realized from the stored messages this was the one Kroll used to call his whore. Dumas pocketed the phone and searched some more. He hit pay dirt when he found the undercover camera. Porn Dude took it straight to W. Ashton Bradford.
Ass Bradford recognized the camera as a model used by the FBI. Kroll was still on the payroll. Bradford considered his options. The ability of either of his henchmen to incapacitate Kroll without shooting him from ambush was doubtful. El Jefe was unhappy with what he viewed as Bradford’s failures. The dope trucks catching fire and women being kidnapped right out of his barn. Even with the blame laid squarely on his Tucson competition. El Jefe told Bradford he had a spy on the inside of his operation.
And the Middle Eastern customers were due in the following morning with a significant payday for Bradford. The drug lord was flying in with the money and the jihadists. The bomb waited in a truck a couple of kilometers from Lochiel on the Mexican side of the border. The terrorists El Jefe was helicoptering in from his base. Included the bomb technician to arm the device and encode the cellular phones. Two suicide bombers to drive the truck and active the device on the Los Vegas strip at eight PM.
El Jefe was the key to getting Bradford getting safely out of the country. Kroll, up until this latest discovery, was the trusted lieutenant to see that plot was carried out. True to his first name, Welch. Bradford had planned on leaving Kroll holding the bag without his expected five-million-dollar payment. So why not cement his loyalty to El Jefe and the Middle Easterners by offering up Kroll as a traitor. Numb Nuts and Porn Dude could escort the bombers. They were expendable.
Ron Kroll riding one of the ATV’s left at dawn to patrol the ranch perimeter. For the past two days, he’d been looking for the new FBI agent Ernie masquerading as Double B cowboy. Kroll wasn’t aware of the latest bombing. The horseshoe camera recorded his departure and his return.
Kroll’s operational background was city streets. Dirt roads and ranch trails were alien places for him. Ron was not looking for somebody hiding and watching him. Not that he would have spotted Burns, astride Don Cameron standing in a clump of trees. Andy considered getting the FBI agent’s attention. This thought quickly went away. So far the fabulous bunch of intrepid crime fighters had not figured out his and Hadfield’s involvement. Burns elected to keep it that way for the time being.
Andy got off Don Cameron at the motorhome and loosened the saddle cinch. He’d dropped the reins ground tying the horse.
“Nothing of interest so this morning. I guess you saw Kroll out for a ride.” She said, “The head man is out on the porch having breakfast and coffee. It looks like he brought a pistol to the table with him. That is unusual.”
Bradford stood up from his seat and removed something from the table top. He walked off the porch and watched Kroll approach.
“Somethings up,” Burns said watching the screen. “That guy never gets up and walks out to greet Kroll.”
Ron Kroll thought it was unusual too. He braked the ATV and coasted to stop by Bradford. He didn’t have time to take the machine out of gear and shut it off. Ass Bradford pulled a Taser from behind his leg and fired the barbs into Kroll’s chest.
“HE TASED HIM!” Burns and Hadfield yelled simultaneously.
Kroll fell off the ATV and spasmodically jerked as Bradford kept the current applied. The driverless ATV careened toward the porch and ran into Porn Dude and Numb Nuts running to help their boss. Unfortunately for Ron Kroll, it only slowed them down.
Limping over to where Ron jerked on ground, Porn Dude launched a weak kick into his balls. The Taser current probably kept Kroll from feeling the effects of the kick. Numb Nuts felt those effects when he grabbed Ron’s arm. Bradford released the trigger so his goon could let go. Hadfield and Burns could only watch the screen.
Bradford let off the trigger, and the two thugs launched their attacks again. Kroll suffered another more effective kick in the nuts. Numb Nuts kicked him in the stomach. Bradford ordered the two men to secure Kroll. His hands were forced behind his back and secured with two large plastic ties. Two more plastic ties secured his ankles together.
The three men left Kroll laying in the dirt. Bradford was able to shut off the ATV before it did any more damage to the porch. Numb Nuts kicked Ron a few more times for catch up. Dumas ran to the shop and came back with the cattle prod. He repeatedly jabbed Kroll with it. After realizing it didn’t work, he used it to beat Ron. Porn Dude kept this up until Bradford ordered him to quit.
“We’re leaving early. The ATV is ready to go, fill the hydration devices and follow on the ATV, you have the GPS track. I’ll be in position. Look directly south of the cottonwoods and move slowly in on my right side. Understand?” Burns said.
“Got it,’ Hadfield answered as they watched the three hoods walked back in the house. Kroll was left laying on his side in the Arizona sun.
“When you cross the fence line drive slow, so you don’t stir up a dust cloud. Unless I’m calling for help.”
Jolene stood up and hugged Burns. He kissed her and then left. She watched from the door as he tightened the saddle cinch. When he mounted Don Cameron, she turned back to getting her gear together.
Burns watched through his rifle scope as the three hoods left the house. The freakish looking one with oversized penis urinated on Kroll. The other thug kicked him in the head and body while the boss watched. The three went to the SUV. Ashton Bradford gave instructions to his men and returned to the house. He paused and said something to Kroll, then went inside. Andy watched the SUV leave and turned his scope back to the undercover agent. With the scope dialed up to the highest power, Burns could see Kroll was breathing. For how long was another question. He relaxed got off the rifle and methodically rechecked the weapon.
Tethered between the trees behind him Don Cameron snorted. Jazz laying nearby growled. Unlike Burns the animals were in the shade of the stand of cottonwoods. Andy’s only protection from the sun was the camo concealment netting laying over him. He heard the sound of the ATV. With deliberate moves, he turned to see Hadfield carefully and slowly approaching. She used the right amount of speed not to leave a dust cloud. Not that it made any difference. Burns’ hide was seven hundred yards away from the ranch headquarters, making it unlikely that Bradford and company would ever know they were there.
Jolene settled in next to Burns and focused a high power spotting scope on Kroll. At sixty times magnification, she studied him.
“I can’t tell how bad he’s hurt. But those plastic ties have got to be cutting off circulation. His breathing appears shallow. I think he is trying to conserve what energy he has left. What are you planning to do?”
“The two underlings left in the SUV. The boss gave them instructions along with a lot of pointing and gesturing. He then went in the house. The thugs roughed Kroll up some more before they left. I expect they will eventually execute him. I’m not going to let that happen. Something is going down, and I believe we will soon learn. Right now we watch and wait.”
“Kroll is suffering, and he may be in danger of dying. We can’t wait forever.”
“Check the porch now.”
They both watched Bradford leave the house and approach Kroll. He a small device and glass. Bradford pulled Kroll upright and allowed him to drink out of the glass. Then
he showed him the device and shoved him back to the ground.
“I wonder what that was about?” Jolene said.
“It appears the boss is making an effort to keep him alive. My guess is he showed Kroll something they found that tipped them off. Bradford is probably planning on handing him over to El Jefe and blaming him for all their troubles.”
Another two hours passed when Burns and Hadfield watched a different truck turn into the ranch. Followed by the Suburban.
“I’ve got it,’ Jolene said examining the truck with the spotting scope. ‘There’s a tarp covering something in the bed. It is overloaded, sitting low on the back end. Numb Nuts is driving it. The porn freak is following in the ranch truck. They must have picked up the loaded pickup when they crossed the border.”
“I think whatever is expected just arrived. I believe as soon as the Aerostat goes down for maintenance, El Jefe will fly across the border and land on the ranch. I can take out any threat to Kroll and get El Jefe and Bradford in the process. Reid and his crew can get what’s left.”
Burns put his rifle scope on the two trucks arriving ranch. Bradford came out and greeted his men. Numb Nuts parked the truck beside the house. It’s tailgate toward Andy’s observation point. Ashton Bradford unhooked the tarp and examined the cargo. Burns commandeered the spotting scope from Jolene and zoomed in on the contents.
“Damn,” Burns hissed. “It has Cyrillic markings and appears to be an explosive device. I hope the hell it is not what I think it is.” He handed the scope back to Jolene.
“What is that?” Jolene asked.
“There has never been any proof those things exist except in the minds of spy novelists.” Burns was back on his rifle watching Bradford raise the tailgate and replace the tarp.
“What the hell is it, Burns!”
“It appears to be a tactical nuclear device or what some call a suitcase nuke.”
“You can’t be serious. No not an A-bomb. They can’t be that crazy. If they are, it’s time to kill those bastards; cut Kroll loose and get the hell out of here.”