Guilty Until Proven Innocent

by L S Barron

  Becca made it to the Mission without coming across anyone, but she could hear some vehicles in the distance. The head missionary was there and had apparently been watching for her. He opened the door and said “Quickly. We need to get you cleaned up.” He showed her to the shower and left her a towel. He told her “You might want to put a dress back on when you’re done and join us at the breakfast table.” He then grabbed her backpack and said “I will keep this in a safe place for you.”

  The shower felt so nice to Becca, she almost forgot where she was. She did as the missionary had asked her and put on one of the dresses from the suitcase. “How did Jack know her size?” she wondered and thought that he knew too much about her already, except for the fact that she was innocent of course. She joined the missionary and several workers at breakfast. He introduced her to the others as one of the new teachers. She just smiled and said “Buenos dias.” She didn’t want to really talk to anyone so she kept it simple. The smell of fresh ground coffee made her forget everything except for the fact that she was really hungry.

  As they were enjoying the breakfast, there was a banging on the front doors and without warning several military men, like the ones from the checkpoint the day before, entered before anyone could even get up to answer the door. The head missionary stood up greeted the men as they entered the kitchen. His genuine friendliness and greeting had an immediate effect on calming the moment. One man came forward and told him that there had been some guerrilla activity in the area and they wanted to make sure the Mission was safe. Becca knew that is not what they wanted but of course didn’t let on that she knew. The missionary talked with the men and assured them that there had not been any activity here. He then invited them for breakfast. Which they politely declined. The men looked around a little longer, with less intent that when they had entered and soon apologized to everyone for the disruption. They left without incident and with a few biscuits in hand.

  After things had calmed down and Becca had a chance to lie down, the head missionary finally called her to his office. Upon entering the office Becca read the door sign to the office “Padre Collins”. She laughed to herself, “All this action and I didn’t even know his name.” He welcomed her and asked if she was okay. She assured him she was and thanked him for helping her. He smiled and motioned for her to sit down. He explained that he knew Jack Randale for a long time. They had been old friends from his younger days in the military. He explained that she would have to spend a few days there until things died down then he would contact Jack and they would get her out of there. Becca decided to trust Pastor Collins and told him of the two bags of money. He said “I suspected as much, Jack told me you should be bringing back some cargo. We will get the bags as soon as it’s clear.”

  What seemed like forever, was just three days, but Becca was ready to go home. It seemed strange to Becca that she was in a peaceful beautiful place, but she found herself wanting to go back. She actually missed her new friends and Jack. She just wanted to be back home, back in prison.

  Johnny’s Demise

  Becca found it nice to be home again and back within her safe prison walls. She was transported from the airport back to the Program’s prison. There were no shackles this time and no hood over her head. Being a native of Colorado she realized they were in an area of Colorado close to a town she knew as La Junta. She guessed that the special CIA prison was on the army’s Pinon Canyon site. “Home sweet Home,” she thought to herself as the van reached the side doors to the large concrete complex.

  Jack was waiting for her as he opened the side door of the van. “Welcome home stranger,” he said with his normal smirky grin. She smiled back and said “Miss me, did ya?” “Come on, throw your stuff in your cell and join us in the courtyard. Its barbecue time.” Jack replied. Becca thought that a barbecue sounded like something from heaven.

  Everyone was out on the patio. Officer Brady had a barbeque going which smelled great, like barbecued ribs. Even the guards in the main tower were standing out on the walkway to take in the aroma. Officer Randale reached into a cooler and threw Becca a can. She looked down and to her amazement saw that it was a Coors. “Really,” she thought. “A beer in prison, no one would ever believe this.” Becca didn’t really like beer, but she wouldn’t pass on being able to drink one while in prison.

  The guys congratulated Becca on completing her first mission and asked her all about her adventures. After telling them of her adventure, they all started telling stories of their own. They also told of stories involving people she hadn’t met, but by the way they toasted certain names, she gathered that they had been killed. Finally, after eating some awesome baby back ribs and drinking a few more beers, Jack stood up and gave a toast to Johnny, “Goodluck in your endeavours and may Kabul fall by the unsung heroes of our program.” Johnny stood up and clashed his beer can against Jacks as Officer Brady gave him an “oorah.”

  Becca was clueless to the issues of this part of the world, so Jack would give her a quick lesson. Becca learned that clear back in 1979 President Carter had signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-soviet regime in Kabul Afghanistan. Later, President Reagan would continue supporting the mujahideen, the Afghan regional groups who battled the Soviet Union who withdrew just recently. However, Jack would explain, that the CIA’s job was not finished there, not by any means. He said that civil unrest was high and that the CIA wanted to see mujahideen take Kabul which possibly may lead to the fall of the soviet backed Afghan president, Najibullah. Johnny was needed to help the rebels and assist them with some new weaponry.

  The group stayed out on the patio until late into the night. Johnny talked with Becca about things that had happened to him in his life, but told her “If there is one thing I know, I know that this was God’s plan for me. I was guilty of many atrocities during my young gang life, but I now think of the lives that I have helped save.” He told her “Remember your lot in life is what you make of it, that’s what free will is all about.” Becca definitely understood where Johnny was coming from, but felt as though Johnny was having a bad feeling about this mission.

  Johnny left early the next morning for Afghanistan. Becca arose in the morning to realize it was only herself, Scott, and Kai left in the large concrete prison. She meandered out to the dining room to find Kai already up and cooking breakfast. Scott was apparently still in bed and there were no officers around yet, just the normal guards. She tried to converse with Kai, but he just didn’t ever say much in return. The place seemed so empty without Johnny or Jack there to harass her.

  She finished breakfast and decided to get in a workout. After her run she saw that Scott was finally up. She went back into the dining room to see what was up for the day. Scott told her that Jack was taking Johnny to an air force base in Colorado Springs, where the military would then escort Johnny to his destination. Then he told her that Officer Brady had the day off, so it was a free day for them. “How boring” Becca thought, she really didn’t want a day off. She wanted to do another mission already. She kind of liked the adrenaline rush and the excitement of it all. Plus it beat hanging around a prison cell all day, especially only with Scott and Kai as company.

  After what seemed a long and really boring day, Becca awoke the next day to find Officer Brady in the Kitchen with Kai. “Morning missy, thought you were going to sleep all day.” Becca just yawned as she looked over at the clock and said “Wow, it’s already six. You know me usually I’m up at least by four,” shaking her head as to say “not”. Brady told Becca that today, was visiting day at her old prison. “You need to visit with your father so that there is no concern as to your whereabouts.” Becca must have given him a look like she didn’t want to go because he then said “You’ll only be there for visiting hours, I’ll bring you back right after.” She shook her head as if that was okay.

  Visiting hours went well. Her father had always been easy to get along with. She told him that this new construction work program was goin
g great. She had to lie a little, or more like a lot to her father, which she didn’t really like. She basically told him that the new program had been helping with construction of a new mission academy in Guatemala. He actually seemed happy to see that his daughter had found something good to do in prison. He told her stories of what all of her brothers had been up to. He told her that they all would have loved to have been there, but that it was hard because they were so scattered around the country now. This filled Becca with a sense of peace. She did, however have to remind him, that he still had to keep the program quiet because it was still in its infancy. He wanted to know where they would be next. “Don’t know dad, but I’m sure next time I see you, I’ll have a good story.” She wanted to ask about any news of Jenna, but she knew it was pointless and would just ruin the moment, so she just left the subject alone. Then her father said “Oh yay, in case I don’t get to see you again for awhile, Happy Birthday. What, the big 25 in a week? Getting old huh?” She laughed “not as old as you, can’t seem to catch you. Although how long have you been 49 now? Seems like you been that age for years.” They laughed together and then said their goodbyes

  Becca was quiet on the ride back. Officer Brady asked “everything okay?” Becca replied with a smile “actually things are really good.” Officer Brady spent the rest of the time telling Becca old war stories, from his day as a Navy Seal. Becca didn’t mind though, she actually found the stories exciting and inspirational. Today he told stories of Panama and the dictator Manuel Noriega. Becca wasn’t a big history buff, but she had heard his name before on the news and didn’t think that he was a very good man. Brady said “We tortured him with hard rock music like Guns N’ Roses until he surrendered,” he laughed “I wanted to surrender myself after two days of that music.” Becca laughed, she knew Brady was a country boy.

  The next day, Officer Randale was back. He told everybody that Johnny got off without a hitch and he would keep the group posted on any news, but in the meantime it was back to training. Jack had Becca working on her marksmanship and not just a little, but all day. Becca swore she was going cross-eyed from staring at a target all day. She wasn’t exactly happy about this, but Jack was her boss. “Jack, that’s enough I can’t see straight anymore,” she told him. He quickly and sternly replied “Its Officer Randale here. Do you think it will be easy to shoot a target when you’re out there? When you’re worn down and tired?” Becca wished the Jack from the plane she got to talk to was here, but she knew he had to be Officer Randale while training. She knew he was being hard on her for her own good, she just didn’t really like it much.

  It had been a week since Officer Randale had dropped off Johnny. No one had heard anything. They all watched the news at dinner every evening in hope of hearing anything positive about the civil unrest in Afghanistan, but as usual, there was nothing. However, that morning, Officer Brady told us all to gather in the dining area that Officer Randale wanted a word. Kai, who still hadn’t spoken much to Becca, looked at her and said “Last time Randale called a meeting, Ryan had been killed on a mission in Haiti.” Becca didn’t know who Ryan was, but could tell that he had probably been a friend of Kai. “This is never good,” he said shaking his head, “never good”.

  Kai was right. It wasn’t good news. Johnny had been killed. Officer Randale explained that he was trying to help part of the Mujahideen forces overthrow Kabul, but they were unexpectedly confronted by a strong Najibullah offensive. He explained that the intel had been wrong and the Mujahideen forces were very outnumbered and unprepared for such an offensive. Becca could see that Jack was struggling to try and stay unemotional, but she knew that Johnny had grown on him. As a matter of fact, she had already grown to really like the guy too.

  The Shining Path

  Training went on as usual. Officer Randale had been busy with two new recruits to the program, James and Levi. James was in his twenties. He was of Jamaican descent. He was well over six foot tall and reminded Becca of a young Julius Erving. Rumours were that he had a chance at college basketball, but like so many of the prisoners in here, he ruined his life with a gang related incident. Levi, also in his twenties, was of Hispanic descent, was not athletic, a little overweight actually, and had killed a security officer during a jewelry store robbery. Both guys were basically pretty nice and actually well mannered. Becca had no clue to what qualifications they looked for when they pick candidates for the program. “What had they seen in her?” she wondered.

  Most of her time was now being spent with Officer Brady and Kai. They were working on some new technology explosives. Officer Brady was a demolitions expert and Kai was the techno geek. They were also playing around with some aluminothermic materials. Becca always liked chemistry and found the explosive training fascinating. Becca learned that the aluminothermic materials would come in handy as an incendiary device. These explosives would be a good way to make sure bundles of drugs and money were fully destroyed, that was her guess anyway.

  The clock read 4:00 am. Once again it was Jack standing in the doorway. “Well ya ready for another go at it or do ya just want to stay in bed all day?” Becca took a moment to awaken from the nice dream she was having and gather her wits “It’s about time” she exclaimed with some excitement in her voice. Jack told her to pack a bag and be ready in thirty minutes. He told her to pack a mix of jungle camo with some street clothes. “Your needed tactical items have already been packed. You will be flying Southern Air Transport again to Lima Peru. You’ll have a great pilot and escort again.” he motioned to himself as he smiled.

  Becca wondered “What in the world needed done in Peru?” She had never really ever heard much about the country and had not seen much on the news about the country either. She had been training a lot on marksmanship and explosives, she hoped it was the explosives training that would come into play on this mission. She really did not want to have to shoot anyone. Although she had to once in her career as a cop. She was called to a domestic and as she walked into the apartment a man unexpectedly had just shot his wife and turned the gun on her. She had no choice but to shoot him. She thought, “Well if it was justified, she guessed she could shoot someone.” but to the others she was still a homicidal killer, even to Jack. She wished he could know who she truly was, but she knew deep down that he probably would never know the truth.

  Once in the air, Jack made his way back to the cabin. He handed Becca her mission envelope and took the seat next to her. “You’ll like this one,” he said. “You get to blow shit up.” She smiled and simply said “Cool”. Jack went on to summarize that there was a group in Peru known as Sendero Luminoso, also known as The Shining Path. They were a revolutionary communist party in Peru. They use guerrilla tactics and were extremely violent. Jack went on to explain that this group was suspected of getting a large shipment of Cocaine ready to move to Bolivia. It was up to her to find and stop the supply line and demolish anything that was of aid to the Shining Path. He told Becca “The details are in your packet,” and as he handed her a case, he told her “You will be a photographer from National Geographic, so you have until the end of the flight to know this camera like a professional would. Goodluck with that.” he chuckled as he went back to the cockpit.

  Becca first opened up the mission packet. She found a fake ID, passport, and some spending money. She also found a National Geographic ID tag. There was a map titled routes of Peru’s cocaine traffickers and detailed instructions of what her assignment entailed. There were GPS coordinates specific to an area in the upper Huallaga Valley. In her packet was also a small GPS chip. Her instructions were to take out a chemistry lab, used to make pasta basica, the white paste used to make cocaine. The lab was believed to be in this area. She was also instructed to take out any transport vehicles in the area and to expect a high percentage of enemy combatants. The chip was to be placed if any money storage facilities were found. They were to remain intact “Of course” she thought “save the money”.

  Jack came back to visit Becca one
more time before starting the descent into Lima. He gave Becca a lot of last minute advice and warned her that this would be a much tougher assignment. He told her that it was such an active area, that the CIA and Navy seals were delaying their operation in the area. “Basically,” he said. “They are willing to risk your life first. You know, we do this program because its suppose to be easier not to care about a bunch of prisoners serving life sentences.” Then he rose to go back to the cockpit and turned to Becca and said “but it’s not.”

  It was early in the morning when they arrived in Lima. There was a CIA operative standing beside a jeep, waiting for Becca. The jeep had the National Geographic magazine logo on the side. He introduced himself as agent Jones. “And my name is Smith,” Becca thought. He handed her the keys and told her further instructions were in the jeep along with some food, water, and all her gear. The agent opened the hidden side panels to reveal a stash of grenades, explosives, a few handguns, and her SR-25 rifle. After closing the panels back up he told her “goodluck”, shook her hand, and then was gone just like that.

  Becca threw her duffle bag in the back seat and then laid and opened the camera case on the front seat. She thought if she was stopped she wanted it to be obvious that she was a National Geographic photographer. Becca looked at the coordinates on her map. Her destination, the upper Huallaga Valley was about 760 km away, about a 10 hour drive. They could have flown her in closer, but didn’t want to raise any suspicions.

  The easy 10 hour drive, wasn’t so easy. The roads were not good and the 10 hours was more like 13 hours. The good thing was that she had not come across any checkpoints or had any problems. The CIA had given her a contact name in the region close to a small town called Tingo Maria. The contact was a farmer named Humberto Galvez. His farm was nestled in the prime area where the Andes mountains descended to the Amazon basin, making it an ideal area for growing the Coca plant. He was initially a fruit farmer but was forced to join the “farmers co-op” and grow coca. Basically he was under the control of the Shining Path. So he had been secretly assisting the CIA in their operations to get back some control in the area. It had not been going good for the CIA.