by Chris Tucker
“Suddenly, my back feels better,” quipped Vigil. “Let’s get on with it.”
Mercer went to his bed and his partner got up to walk to the cell door. He began to moan a little, and just as Vigil was about to call out, the door at the end of the hall opened, causing him to retract his cries for help. Mercer also heard the door open and halted the attempt at faking his condition.
“What’s going on, Sean?” Vigil asked curiously. “I thought shift change was at seven.”
Both men were caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the unexpected visitor.
“This is new,” said Mercer. “It’s been the same routine for days. There shouldn’t be anyone here at this time.”
All hope of an escape quickly vanished as they feared their chance was now dwindling away. Staring at the door and waiting for a figure to emerge, the looks on their faces went from despair to confusion as they gazed at the man who had just entered from the other side. With a look of astonishment, they watched as Julian Navarro walked through the door.
19
The guard sitting at his post didn’t seem to think anything was out of the ordinary. To him, it was just another soldier – his replacement. The only thing that made him weary was the nervous look on the face of the man who had just entered the hallway.
“You’re early. I’m scheduled until seven.”
Navarro didn’t respond immediately. He stood frozen while he thought about what to do next.
“Well, are you my replacement?” the guard asked.
Still, he didn’t answer. Realizing this was not in fact the man who was supposed to relieve him, the guard stood up and asked, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
Adrenaline suddenly over took Navarro's body. “Don’t move,” he barked.
His arms were shaking as he pointed the AK47 at the guard. There was a pitch in his voice due to the uneasiness of the situation he found himself in.
“Do what I say and you won’t get hurt.” He was trying to keep an assertive tone, but his voice was being overpowered by the nervousness. “Unlock the gate. Do it now.”
As he guided the guard down the hall towards the prisoners, he could see the two Americans standing and watching the unfolding events. When they reached the cell, he demanded once more that it be unlocked. The guard put the key into the lock and was just about to turn it, when he unexpectedly sprung back.
Navarro was caught off guard and was knocked to the ground. The two men struggled with one another while trying to get the upper hand on their opponent. With the key still dangling, Mercer smartly extended his arm between the bars and turned it, unlocking the cell. The two soldiers continued to grapple as he and his partner exited the cell. Vigil was just about to reach down to separate them when a gunshot rang out.
The blast was deafening in the enclosed hallway. The motionless bodies on the floor began emitting a seeping pool of blood that was covering the concrete beneath them. Finally, the man on the bottom was able to throw the body on top of him off to the side.
Revealing a hand held pistol that had delivered the fatal shot, Navarro looked up with a frightening glare in his eyes. As he sat up, Mercer reached out his hand to help him up.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Trying to regain his composure, Navarro answered with hesitance in his voice. “I…I think so.”
Mercer was grateful the young man had risked his life for them. “We owe you a great debt of gratitude, son.”
Navarro was appreciative of the statement, but he had his own reasons for risking his life to free the two Americans. The young soldier had every intention of keeping his promise to his parents, and he would return to them with news of avenging the loss of their first-born.
Still dazed from the shock of killing a man, he said, “We need to get out of here. We need to go quickly.”
Mercer grabbed the rifle that was leaning against the desk and Vigil promptly snatched the handgun sitting in its holster dangling from the chair. Fully armed and prepared to fight their way out of the compound, the three men went through the door and made their way up the staircase, unsure of what resistance lay ahead.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Mercer slowly pushed the door open and peered around to see if anyone was present. Not detecting anyone, he ducked back into the staircase. Knowing he and his partner were on the same page, he looked at Navarro.
“Alright, when we get through this door, we keep going. Don’t stop for anything. If anyone comes at us, you have to shoot to kill. Understood?”
The young soldier knew there was no turning back at this point. He was just as much an enemy to the cartel now as the two men he was trying to help escape. With a calm and subdued tone, he said, “Understood.”
Mercer gave a look towards Vigil, who nodded as if to say he knew exactly what the plan was. Taking one last peek out the door, he pushed it opened and they went through the threshold.
The dimly lit hallway seemed eerily quiet as they moved cautiously towards the exit. They thought the shot that echoed through the dungeon would surely have brought anyone who was in the building to investigate the commotion. Mercer was beginning to wonder if they would encounter any resistance at all. His hopes of a conflict-free escape were quickly squashed by the appearance of an armed soldier at the end of the hallway, causing them to halt their advancement.
The guard seemed just as surprised to see the three men as they were of him, and stood in a daze for a few seconds. Navarro, thinking quickly, walked over to the guard.
“These men are with me. I have orders to take them to Vallejos.”
The guard was unsure of exactly what to do. “I don’t know you. What is your name?”
“Julian. I have strict orders to bring these men to Vallejos immediately.”
For the first time, the guard noticed the other two men were holding weapons. “Why are they armed?”
He raised his rifle and pointed it at Navarro, demanding that he back up. “All of you. Lower your weapons!” Reaching for his two-way radio, he warned the intruders, “Don’t move. I will find out who you are.”
Raising the radio to his mouth, he pressed down on the transmitter button. Before he could utter a word, a loud pop rang out. A bullet ripped through the guard's throat, causing him to fall instantly. Mercer looked at Vigil, who fired the fatal shot.
“That’s one hell of an alarm clock you got there,” commented Mercer. “There’s no doubt that woke everyone up. We have to go. Now.”
He looked at Navarro, who was as white as a ghost, and said, “You don’t have to do this. No one knows you tried to help us. You can still walk away from this.”
“I appreciate your concern, Mr. Mercer, but there’s no turning back for me now.”
Mercer nodded at the young man and patted him on the shoulder. “Alright then. Let’s go.”
They reached the front door and were just about to make their move when bullets riddled the wall next to them. Mercer looked up at the top of the stairs and witnessed the unexpected assailant firing wildly. Natural instincts took over and he crouched down behind the beam at the bottom of the stairwell. Leaning to his side, he was able to get a clear head shot on the soldier. He squeezed the trigger twice, dropping the attacker before he even knew what hit him.
“That was close,” said Vigil. “But, I’m glad you have better aim than he did.”
Mercer let out a sigh. “Let’s hope they all have such crappy aim.”
The sun was up just enough to where there would be no cover of darkness to aid in their escape. Standing in the doorway, he peered off into the distant tree line.
Pointing to a certain area, he said, “That spot right there past the brush. It should provide enough cover. Julian, you can show us the way from there.”
Knowing Vigil would need no direction once they were outside in the open, he kept his attention on Navarro.
“Stay close to me and keep moving.”
Assured everyone was in agreement as to wh
at the plan was, Mercer led the way out the front door and towards the tree line.
20
Vallejos was sound asleep when he was jolted out of his slumber by the commotion taking place. Confusion quickly set in as gunshots could be heard through the halls of the building. Jumping up, he threw on his clothes, grabbed the handgun on the table next to his bed, and went to the bedroom door.
Without hesitation, he flung the door open and stormed down the hallway. Seeing the body of one of his men lying motionless at the top of the stairs, he slowed his pace to further assess the situation. Arriving at the top of the stairs, he could hear the sporadic rattle of gunfire echoing through the compound. Seeing nothing unusual in the foyer of the building, he continued down the flight of steps.
Only upon reaching the main entrance did he see three men running very quickly away from the building. He fired a shot in their direction, but was unable to register a hit. Recognizing two of the men as his prisoners, he suddenly realized what was unfolding.
The grounds were already full of soldiers who were loading trucks and making final preparations to embark on their mission. Many of them were now engaging the escapees in a firefight, while others quickly followed suit as the unexpected chaos ensued. To Vallejos’ dismay, his soldiers had been unable to kill the men.
Walking barefoot, he didn’t even notice the harsh dirt and rocks clawing at his feet as he stormed through the center of the compound. The rage in his eyes blinded him from everything else around him. He didn’t recognize the third man, but could discern by the clothes he was wearing that he was a member of the regime, and obviously aiding the prisoners. He took aim and fired, missing again.
***
Ducking behind a pickup truck, the three allies were able to take shelter from the onslaught of bullets flying around them. Mercer and Vigil did a quick ammo check. Four soldiers tried to flank their position while the others kept the escapees pinned down behind the truck, but Mercer saw them coming and called out to his partner, “Pat, to the right.”
The NESA partners took aim and, with enemies in their sights, they opened fire, each dropping the man they were focused on. The two remaining soldiers were left in a state of shock as they realized they had just lost two of their own so quickly.
Frantically, the soldiers opened fire in the direction of the truck. When their clips ran dry, they each grabbed a new magazine to reload, something which would seal their fate. With precise and simultaneous headshots, Mercer took out the one on the left and Vigil dropped the one on the right. Navarro sat in awe as he watched the soldiers’ lifeless bodies fall to the ground.
Still facing a barrage of bullets, Mercer decided on a course of action. “Pat, our best chance is to split up. You head south. I’ll take the kid and get to the tree line. We can meet up back at the hotel.”
Navarro was trembling. “We are badly outnumbered. What are we going to do?” His inexperience in combative situations was showing greatly at this time.
Mercer, showing no signs of being emotionally affected by his surroundings, quipped, “Look at it this way kid… if they haven’t figured out that you’re helping us yet, they most likely won’t be aiming for you. If I get shot, then it will give you more time to get away.”
Navarro was unsure how to take the comment and sat there with a blank expression on his face.
Mercer scanned the compound and then looked over at his partner. “When I say go, we’ll give you cover fire. With their focus on you, it’ll give me and the kid time to make our move. Be careful, Pat.”
“Don’t go getting all sentimental on me,” Vigil retorted. “We’ve fought our way out of worse situations than this. I can handle this bunch of misfits.”
“Yeah, well still, be careful.” Crouching to the edge of the front bumper, he gave his friend the nod to make his move.
Vigil looked back and said, “Okay boys, it’s show time.” Then, he took off in a sprinter’s dash away from the truck.
Mercer and Navarro provided cover fire, keeping a good percentage of return fire to a minimum. It gave Vigil the chance he needed to make the dash through the open space and reach the trees. From there, he returned the favor and fired on the soldiers so that his two allies could make their dash to safety as well.
The plan had worked. The vast majority of soldiers were now concentrating their efforts on the single gunman, leaving the other two unattended for a moment.
Mercer and Navarro seemed to have a clear path to the tree line when Navarro suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. Mercer stopped to turn around and help him up. As he lifted him up, he felt the ripping of flesh tearing apart at his hind side. Wincing with pain, he never let out a sound to reveal he had been hit. Instead, he grabbed the young man’s arm and pushed him in the direction of the brush.
Vigil killed four more men and was able to hold off the rest of the soldiers until Mercer and Navarro had reached their destination safely. He was so consumed with his task at hand, he never even noticed his partner had been shot. Assured his friend and their newfound comrade had made it safely; he ran off and disappeared into the jungle.
Navarro was keeping watch for advancing enemies while Mercer took a minute to check his wound. He yelped, “They shot me in the ass!”
“May I take a look?” asked Navarro. “I have some experience in treating wounds.”
“No, you may not take a look! You just keep an eye out for a minute.”
Mercer was able to spin his head around just enough to see where the bullet had penetrated. At first glance, it appeared that it only skimmed the outer part of the flesh. Satisfied it wasn’t as bad as it felt, he looked up at Navarro.
“I’ll be okay. It’s just a flesh wound.”
He sat up to assess the situation and recon the area for enemy combatants. “When I give the word, I want you to run as fast as you can. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t stop until I tell you to.”
Navarro looked as if he wasn’t fully grasping the situation in its entirety. Sensing uneasiness in the young man, Mercer tried to calm his nerves. “You’ll be fine. You’ve done a great job up to this point and we wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. Just keep your head down and you’ll be okay.”
Taking aim with his rifle once again, he called back, “Go. Now!”
While he laid down cover fire, Navarro took off running as fast as he could. Bullets were flying through the early morning air as he looked back to see the kid was still running as ordered. He returned his focus to the advancing soldiers and methodically took out three of them before the others retreated and ran for cover. He saw this as a chance to make his own flee for safety. Still feeling the pain of his wound, he fired a few more rounds for effect and got up to make his own retreat. With bullets humming over his head, he ran as fast as his feet would carry him.
***
Vallejos had made his way around to the back of the building in an attempt to come up behind the escapees. Treading cautiously, he made it to the rear of the structure and was able to gain a good vantage point of two men fleeing into the jungle. Unable to get a clear shot through the trees, he ran into the forest in an attempt to chase them down.
The rugged terrain seemed to have no effect on his bare feet as he traversed the jungle floor. The men he was chasing were visible, but he had to hurry in order to keep pace as best he could for someone without the proper foot attire. A moment finally presented itself where a clear shot was viable. The fleeing men had come to a stop and were crouched in a kneeling position at the edge of a field. He came to a stop, where he could remain hidden behind a tree, but was still able to maintain clear visibility of the two men he was hunting. Unable to hear the conversation between them, he anticipated they would be on the move again very shortly.
Just as that thought passed through his mind, they were back up and on the move again, racing across the field. He went to the edge of the brush where the two men had just been crouched seconds earlier. With nothing between him and his prey but a clear
line of sight, he took aim at the sandy haired man, lining him up for the kill.
Instead of taking the shot, he veered his handgun in the direction of the man dressed in military fatigues. With mere seconds left before they vanished into the thick foliage once again, he steadied his aim and squeezed the trigger twice.
***
Two bullets ripped through the right shoulder blade of Navarro and exploded violently as they exited his chest. He fell to the ground in agonizing pain and let out a loud wail. Mercer rushed over and crouched down next to him, all the while scanning the horizon for any sign of who fired the shots.
The scan was complete when his eyes spotted a familiar face standing fifty yards away. Undaunted by the fact that Vallejos was standing there with a pistol pointed at him, he opened fired with his own rifle, causing the cartel leader to retreat for safety behind a tree. Convinced he had bought a few moments from retaliatory fire, he focused his attention to the gaping wound in Navarro’s chest. Sensing there wasn’t much he could do for the wound, he cradled the young man and tried his best to console his new friend.
“Hang in there, kid. I know it hurts, but I can carry you. It’ll be painful, but we need to go now.”
With blood filling his lungs, the brave soldier tried to maintain a positive outlook on his current situation. “It’s okay, Mr. Mercer. I’m not going anywhere. I know that.” His breathing was erratic and his voice was hoarse. “You must go now and save yourself. I will hold them off for as long as I can.”
Mercer was impressed with the heroic stance on display, and knew in his heart that Navarro was right. He wasn’t going anywhere. He most likely would be dead within a few minutes, but the young soldier did his best to not give that impression outwardly.
“You’re a brave man, Julian. Without your help, we wouldn’t have gotten this far. I owe you a debt that could never be repaid over a thousand lifetimes.”
