by Cliff Deane
The Sergeant Major looked at the pruning shears on Steiner’s desk, and said, “Yes, sir, but with those small shears, this may take a while.”
“That’s fine,” said Steiner, “whatever, we are in no hurry, but before you begin, please tie a tourniquet around his upper arm, so he does not bleed out.”
“Yes, of course, sir.”
The prisoner’s eyes grew larger as he watched the Sergeant Major pick up the shears and as he exercised the blades, the man quickly said, “Wait, I speak Poquito English. What do you wish to know?”
Steiner then looked at his Sergeant Major and said, “Karl, this man has lied to us, what do you think his punishment should be for such a transgression?”
“Sir, with your permission, I suggest me remove his right thumb.”
“Yes, that does seem appropriate, please proceed,” said Steiner.
The man was now pleading for mercy, and in excellent English, he said he would tell Steiner whatever he wanted to know.
Steiner looked at the man and in a calm and almost paternal way, said, “Yes, my son I know that you will. Sergeant Major please proceed.”
The Sergeant Major slowly brought the shears to the right thumb and placed the digit between the open blades, when Steiner said, “Wait.”
The man, now crying, exhaled deeply and said to his captor, “Thank you, sir, I will tell you everything.”
Steiner then looked at the Sergeant Major and said, “Oh, never mind, Sergeant Major, proceed.”
The surprised man screamed in agony as the Sergeant Major sliced through the base of the thumb, severing it. The bleeding was short lived as the tourniquet did its job well.
“Normally,” said Steiner, “we would use drugs to gain the information we want, but since you, or your friends, cut off the genitals, hands, feet, and head of some of my men, I have decided to use a more direct, albeit primitive method. Now, are you ready to answer my questions, instantly and without hesitation, or shall we remove your other thumb? Your cooperation may gain access to morphine to ease your pain.”
“Gracias, sir, sobbed the prisoner, who was in terrible pain, I will tell you whatever you want to know.”
“Wonderful, now, Karl, give this man a dose of morphine to ease his suffering.”
Once the morphine took effect and the man was no longer in such pain, Steiner asked, “What is your first name?”
As Paco was about to answer, Steiner looked at his Sergeant Major and gave him a slight nod. The Sergeant Major then stood and made his way to the hallway where the other prisoners were being held. He ordered the guards to secure them some one hundred feet away so that they could not hear Paco’s answers.
“My name is Paco, Señore, mucho gusto.”
“Ah, Paco, now perhaps we can be friends, no? Yes, of course we can. All right, my new-found friend, is your Headquarters on Fort Bliss?”
“Yes, Señore, it is located in the old Post Headquarters Building.”
“Excellent, amigo, now, tell me how many Zetas are at Fort Bliss?”
“Si, Señore, we are the Advanced Party of forty Zetas, sent to prepare the Fort to receive our main force of five-hundred Zetas, and our familias, which should be here in a week or so. Our mission is to gather supplies. The Main Body will be traveling in a military convoy.”
“Tell me, Paco, are all of your comrades of the Advanced Party, non-combatants?”
“No, Señore, there are fifteen in our party who are trained soldiers from our Mexican Special Operations Forces.”
“Oh, really, well, Paco, that is very interesting, and where might we find these professional soldiers?”
“They are billeted in the Post Headquarters Building, but they run regular patrols throughout the Main Post area. I am sorry my Colonel, but I do not know what their patrol schedule would be.”
Steiner shook his head in a friendly manner and said, “Paco, you have been very helpful, and we will make sure you receive your just reward.”
“Oh, muchas gracias.”
“Oh, Paco, not at all. You will get what you deserve. I truly thank you for your assistance.”
This particular piece of strategic information piqued Steiner’s interest, for he estimated that the enemy to his rear was probably a week out. Hopefully, these two forces would collide in battle which would either slow or eliminate his pursuers.
By the time all three men had lost their right thumb, Steiner knew everything he needed to know about the Zeta’s. Where the forty, now thirty-seven were billeted, less the snipers that were eliminated during the road march. The fact that there were no mechanics among their advanced party, and that no armored vehicles were up, and running was wonderful intel.
Now, Steiner knew why the Zetas had not used any heavy weapons against his convoy. The Advanced Party was primarily made up of scroungers, with only a squad-sized group of true military men.
He also had information on the schedule of the Advanced Party, along with knowledge about the schedule for the Zeta security patrols.
Yes, thought Steiner, we will have our revenge, African style revenge, just as he had witnessed in Angola and Uganda.
What Steiner didn’t know was that his Convoy had been under the watchful eye of the Tigua Tribe, which had maintained friendly relations with all the of other tribes of the American Southwest, as well as with the Whites who had once lived in the El Paso area. Their relations with the Mexican people, however, had always been strained and just as often, flammable.
The Tigua had been told of the Medicine Man, Taza Geronimo’s visions of a band of evil men who would work their way to Arizona. Here, the Tigua watched two groups of evil men prepare for battle.
Following the coming battle between the Zetas and the Men in Black, word would be sent to Chief Daniel Two-Dogs concerning the victor.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Battle for Fort Bliss
15 May 03, 0300 Hours
Merc Convoy
Steiner sent out patrols to clear the way to Fort Bliss at 0030 Hours, and at precisely 0030 the convoy began movement toward the Main Gate to the Fort in the tracks of the patrols. The convoy arrived at the Main Gate at 0430.
The patrols had cleared out the last of the Zeta Observation Posts in the convoy’s path and had captured the Gate Guards at Bliss. They had also reconned the path to both the billeting of the Zetas and to their Headquarters.
Steiner directed Captain Werner to send a small force to take the billets which held the scroungers. Then, using loudspeakers, he ordered the Zetas to surrender. The professional mercenaries took nearly all of the scrounging force prisoner. The fifteen soldiers within the two story Fort’s Headquarters Building, however, decided to fight it out.
Steiner ordered the Alpha Company Commander to send a platoon to root them out.
“Yes, sir,” replied Captain Werner. “I shall see to it immediately.”
“Excellent, Captain, make sure we are live on your Company and Platoon radio nets,” said Steiner.
Senior Sergeant Nat Turner, the Platoon Sergeant of the 1st Platoon was given the task of ending the fight. He was told to take prisoners if possible.
Sergeant Turner met with his Squad and Fire Team Leaders to construct a plan to clear the HQ Building. “All right, men, as initial guidance I believe we should place a sniper on each side of the building. Once I give the signal they are to open fire on any targets of opportunity. This will, I am sure, cause the remaining Zees to seek cover. I want each Squad Leader to send your best shooters to see the Armorer to draw the Accuracy International AT308 and get the Night force C429 scope.
Sergeant Norris spoke up, saying, “Nat, none of us can guarantee the most accurate shots since these weapons have not been zeroed. Our guys are great shots and the night vision reticle already installed on their personal weapons might give us a better outcome.”
Sergeant Turner thought for a few seconds before agreeing with Norris. “Yeah, I figure you are probably right, okay, we’ll run with that. Good thinking, N
orris.”
“Thanks, Sarge,” said the pleased Squad Leader.
“Sergeant Wang, your squad is responsible for taking and securing the rear entrance to the building. Once you have eliminated any rear guard, second squad will enter to sweep the ground floor. Following the clearance of the first floor the remainder of the platoon will enter the building and begin movement to clean out the trash on the second floor. Any questions?”
“Yes, one question,” asked Sergeant Wang, are we cleared to use Flash-Bangs and grenades?”
For just a fleeting second Senior Sergeant Turner felt a pang of guilt at the thought of possibly destroying an American Army Fort’s Headquarters’ Building. The pang, however, was barely noted by Turner as he said, “Yes, of course. We have no further use for this building. You are weapons free for any means necessary to complete the mission.”
“Thanks, Sergeant Tee, we’ll be ready to initiate contact in twenty mics, Roger?”
“Sounds fine with me, Otto, but I want a verbal understanding from each squad on their mission assignments, and, I want them in fifteen minutes. Roger?”
This mission was old hat for these soldiers of fortune. They had executed similar missions many times in Africa.
Fifteen minutes later the platoon’s leadership met with Senior Sergeant Turner and through their briefs, convinced him that each section, down to the individual merc knew exactly what to do.
The force donned their NVGs and the sniping teams were first into position. They were followed by each squad and section reporting to Turner that they were in position and ready to break stuff and hurt people.
Zeta Defensive Plan
15 May 03, 0300 Hours
Post Headquarters Building
Fort Bliss, Texas
Forty-five year old Sergeant Alfonso (Al) Gonzalez had spent many years in the Mexican Army before joining the Zeta Cartel. He stood five feet four inches tall and weighed one hundred and twenty-five pounds. His jet black hair was now a bit longer than when he was a Platoon Sergeant. His career spanned two decades with service in five of the nine Mexican Special Forces Battalions under the command of Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (Special Forces Airmobile Group) (GAFE). His complexion was swarthy, and his dark brown eyes expressed no emotion.
Gonzalez had fourteen professional soldiers in his small command, and he intended to put that experience into use against the Gringo invaders of Zetaland. No, these were not African Rebels rampaging across the land. The men knew their jobs every bit as well as the Knights.
Once word arrived of an enemy attack on his fort, the Sergeant placed four sharpshooters cattycornered from the corners of the HQ Building. Their orders were to engage any enemy snipers placed on the surrounding buildings, but only after they had established their shooting positions. They were also clear to take out the leadership, should the opportunity present itself. These sharpshooters were equipped with Remington 700, bolt action competition grade rifles and Vortex Diamondback Tactical 4-12x40mm scopes. Though these rifles are for long range shooting, because of the closer quarters of the Fort Bliss Command area, Sergeant Gonzalez had ordered them to be zeroed to only one hundred meters.
The Post Headquarters Building was large and impossible to defend with only fifteen soldiers; therefore, Gonzalez reduced his area of responsibility from the entire building to six small pockets of two defenders each. There was one defensive point on the 1st floor and four teams on the 2nd floor. Each team began preparing their defensive positions in offices to provide cover, concealment, and protection from small arms fire and hand grenades. Each man had ear plugs and dark goggles to reduce the effect of flash-bang grenades. Grenade booby-traps were placed in several office entryways, including their own positions. Each position held the soldier’s individual weapons and one squad machinegun with five hundred rounds of belted 7.62 NATO Ball ammunition.
None of the Zetas expected to get out of this mess alive, but each man also knew they would be executed by the invaders, especially after the dismembering of those black clad soldiers killed on the I-10 West. No, surrender was not an option. A couple of lines of coke bolstered each man’s senses and courage.
At the end of Sergeant Gonzalez’s briefing he said, “Bueno, amigos, I’ll see you in Hell, now come on, we have much work to do, so let’s get busy.
Zeta Defensive Plan
15 May 03, 0345 Hours
Post Headquarters Building
Fort Bliss, Texas
The four Zeta sharpshooters were in position on the roofs of the four structures adjacent to the corners of the Fort Bliss HQ. they were settled into position and prepared for action before the Black Knights reached the Headquarters Building. These four Zees lay in wait as they soundlessly watched their enemy; the Black clad soldiers, slowly surrounding their target.
Manuel Jesus Ortega lay in his sniper’s nest and desperately wanted to open fire, but his training with the 2nd Battalion of the Mexican Special Forces kept him from any rash action. Ortega was the only school-trained sniper in the Fort Bliss Advanced Zeta Party.
Inside the HQ Building the two-man teams were busy barricading themselves into defensive positions. The building itself was built from stone, quarried locally in West Texas. The interior walls were also reinforced with the same stone, though they had long since been covered with plaster board. It was these interior spaces that were occupied by the Zetas as the outer walls could more easily be breached by the high-powered weapons of the Light Armored Vehicles owned by the Black Knights. These inner walls could, and hopefully would, provide significant protection from small arms and grenades. Every door in the building held grenade booby-traps. By the time Steiner’s Force arrived, the Mexicans were dug in like ticks in a dog’s ear. Rooting them out would be no simple affair.
Contact!
15 May 03, 0545 Hours
Outside the
Post Headquarters Building
Fort Bliss, Texas
The merc snipers were skilled in their craft. With the short range to their targets, these men were quite confident in their ability to ‘get the job done’ using their own personal weapons. They quickly and quietly made their way to the top floor of each building before positioning themselves at an opened window. Their nests were set back from the window by some two feet. This placement still gave them adequate visibility of their target areas of responsibility. It also reduced the flash to those outside. The silenced weapons would also make it much more difficult for anyone inside the building to discover their positions.
Sergeant Wang stood beside Senior Sergeant Turner and said, “Nat, to breach the doors I intend to use LAWS rockets. They will take out the doors and any traps set by these Mex’s and with a tiny bit of luck we’ll cause some casualties.”
“Yeah, let’s try to not get any of our boys killed this morning. Will you be ready for kickoff at 0600?”
“Sure, easy. We’ll take out the doors at 0600 and go from there.”
“Roger, partner, get ‘er done.”
Sergeant Wang patted Sergeant Turner on the back and turned to check out his assault troops.
The Zeta sharpshooter, Ortega, had watched Turner and Wang as they talked. He also noted that Wang paid deference to Turner. That could only mean that the tall black man was the leader of the assault. From this point on, Turner was not out of the sights of Ortega. He reported to Sergeant Gonzalez that he had spotted the leader and was keeping him in his sights.
“Bueno, Ortega, when the first shot is fired against us, take him out. Do not miss, my friend, he could be critical.”
“Roger: Out,” said Ortega.
GO! GO! GO!
15 May 03, 0600 Hours
Outside the
Post Headquarters Building
Fort Bliss, Texas
At 0600 the dawn light brought everything into focus. The still morning air seemed ready to usher in the Perfect Storm. The pop of the LAWS rockets firing initiated the assault as the Headquarters doors exploded inward. A second m
issile was fired through each door and exploded inside the entryways.
The Black Knight snipers found no targets until the Zeta sharpshooters fired. Ortega’s finger slightly twitched as he pulled the trigger to fire at Sergeant Turner. Four Mexican rifles barked at the attackers and two Knights fell from the first volley of the Mexican snipers.
The unshielded rifles of the Mexicans gave their positions away and by the third shot the Knight snipers ended the Zeta fire coming from outside the HQ building.
The Knights approached the shattered doors and threw in flash-bang grenades before rushing into the building. Inside, they found a dead Zeta at each portal.
Second squad then rushed in and began sweeping the ground floor. The first office to be cleared was kicked open, followed by a flash-bang and a hand grenade. Just before the flash-bang detonated the grenade placed as a trap exploded, killing two Knights.
The Knight’s 2nd Squad Leader, Sergeant Tomlins ordered a halt to the clearance mission and redirected his troops to us C-4 on every door before entering any office. “Now, listen up,” said Sergeant Tomlins, “once the doors are cleared toss in a couple of grenades. If there is a response, then throw in a satchel charge, but don’t get satchel happy, there are more offices than we have charges. Roger?”
The squad members nodded in agreement and returned to the mission.
The new plan worked well and within a span of only twenty minutes, the ground floor was clear with two more Zeta defenders down.
The old building groaned with each explosion, but the craftsmanship of the builders kept the building standing in defiance of the assault on this statuesque structure.
As the 3rd squad approached the stairs, they were met with a hail of machinegun fire and two grenades came tumbling down the old stone steps. A third grenade was held for three seconds to cause the detonation on the stairs proper. The grenade did explode on the stairs, but the solid old building resisted its destruction as the stairs, though severely damaged, did not cause them to be unusable.
