I'll Remember You (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  “Good idea,” Kyle agreed. “I want us to get together after all of this is over and celebrate. When we were training and working together, I realized we all have a great deal in common, a lot more than just our mutual love for Aron.”

  “I like that.” Bowie smiled. “If we can pull this off, it’s going to be a helluva Christmas.”

  Nerves were tense and there wasn’t a lot of conversation when they landed and began to get ready for the planned assault. Vance had arranged for their transportation. Getting away after it was over was going to be as dangerous and tricky as the attack, they’d just have to make sure they damaged them enough to make their exit possible. “All right. It’s time.”

  Before leaving the airport, they loaded up in three black SUV’s, everyone armed. Beau had made sure they all wore bulletproof vests and Kevlar clothes. It wouldn’t keep them from getting shot, but it would even the odds a fraction. Harley held her bomb in her lap, ready to hook it up and watch the fireworks display. Patrick and his team, would storm the gate. Revel would lead the charge. They had it timed out so the distraction of one assault would camouflage the next. As soon as the west wall was blown and Kyle’s team had moved in, Tyson would lower the brothers and Bowie down by helicopter to storm the house and rescue Aron.

  Jacob hoped to high heaven they hadn’t missed anything.

  The weather was warm as they made their way through the streets of Cantanea. Destry and Patrick rode at the windows, their rifles at the ready, just in case they were fired upon. Stray dogs ran across the road, kids played in the ditches as they passed. Life seemed to be going on as normal, but all were aware that every eye watched them closely as they went by.

  “What do these people think about a drug lord in their neighborhood?” Jaxson asked. When he’d been down before, he had just gone to the airport and the ranch, not venturing out into the countryside.

  “I suppose they’re used to it, much like gang activity in the states, plus so many of them make their living one way or another off the cartel. I’m sure their presence stimulates the economy.” Noah mused.

  “That’s debatable,” Bowie commented. “Down here, it’s either cooperate or die. In the last six or so years, the authorities estimate over a hundred thousand people have been killed in the drug wars. Mass graves have been uncovered. Added together over twenty-four thousand people have just been thrown away like garbage. Dismembered body parts are found in the streets or rotting in barrels of acid. They find dead bodies hanging from bridges, journalists are killed, women are raped...the drug war takes no prisoners.”

  “You can bet your ass someone has let them know we’re here. I think we stick out like a sore thumb.” Isaac’s pessimistic streak was letting itself be known.

  “Let’s take them down.” Jacob had been touched by Bowie’s speech. “Rescuing Aron is my main objective, but anything we can do to alleviate the suffering of these people is just icing on the cake.”

  “We’re getting close,” Beau, who was driving the other vehicle, spoke through the headset. They were all wearing combat helmets, outfitted with state of the art audio and communication equipment. “Remember, we’re parking next to the warehouse on the south side of the wall.” Vance had taken video and photos of the surrounding area. The hacienda itself was an estate covering twelve acres, surrounded by a twelve foot stone wall with barb wire running across the top. The gate was electronic, but Saxon had found a way to override the signal, so the guards were in for a surprise.

  The plan was to rush the gate, then five minutes later, blow the wall. As soon as they were engaging the cartel’s mercenaries at the front and at the site of the explosion, Tyson would land the helicopter near the house and another team would join the fray.

  After Brock sent the blueprints, Patrick and Kyle had studied them, finding the path of least resistance to get to Aron. Alessandra had furnished Brock with a description of where he was being held, so they knew the best door to enter and the directions to take them to the basement.

  Esteban and Martina were deviants; they had a reputation for cold, vindictive torture. The room where he was being housed was six by nine foot. For most of the time, he had either been chained to the ceiling or to the wall. He hadn’t been allowed to lie down, but a few hours every three days. Martina had sought to break his will by depriving him of rest, food and hope. Jacob only hoped she hadn’t succeeded.

  Chapter Twleve

  When they pulled into the warehouse parking lot, Vance waited for them. He directed the SUV’s to be parked inside one of the unloading bays where they would be out of site. Cananea was a mining town, but the industry had fallen victim to the drug trade as had everything else. So, the warehouses were vacant and a good place to mask their movements. They could use the building as cover until they came to the wall.

  Jacob had decided to conduct their raid late in the evening, he felt they would be better able to create a surprise attack under the cover of night. He’d also chosen the dark of the moon. Each team member was also equipped with night vision goggles, the best money could buy, so they were prepared.

  “Move out.” The moment Kyle gave the signal, the troops began to move. They had rehearsed this, repeatedly. Everyone knew their function and knew whose back they covered. Patrick was communicating with Tyson and the helicopter was in place and ready to fly. Stealthily, they moved through the alley, guns cocked and ready. As one, they clung to the shadows, walking quietly, no one speaking. Once Team 1 was at the gate, there was the whispered command. “Override.” Saxon, operating inside the SUV with a satellite hook-up, hacked their controls and the gate clicked. Immediately an alarm sounded, but they had expected this. The rushing of booted feet on concrete was heard between the sharp blasts of the siren. “Fire!”

  Kyle, Destry, Micah and Tennessee stormed the gate, firing round after round into the startled surprised group who came to defend it. El Duro was well-trained, but unused to having to battle an enemy on home turf. Usually they were the aggressors, being attacked in the middle of the night by a group of whooping, rampaging Texans was a shock.

  The sharp retort of rifle fire cracked through the night. Groans of men, riddled by bullets punctuated the night air. “Left, Left, ten o’clock, ten o’clock!” Roscoe was part of Team 1 and he barked out orders, trying to protect their flank.

  “Behind you!” Micah yelled as troops came at them from the street. What the hell? “They’ve got damn reinforcements. This is a surprise.”

  “I’ve got them.” Jayco sat back on his heel with an automatic machine gun and cut the newcomers down with a constant stream of firepower.

  “Good man,” Kyle praised him. “Look to the right. More!”

  “God, how many are there?” They fired in all directions, having to be careful not to take out one of their own. “How much more time we got till Harley blows?”

  Beau’s voice came over the headset speaker. “Forty-five seconds.”

  “Can’t come soon enough, we’re drawing them all.”

  “Just keep shooting,” Tennessee ground out. “The more we can take down here, the better.”

  “Ten, nine, eight.” They could hear the countdown.

  “These bastards don’t know who they’re dealing with,” Jayco spat out.

  All of a sudden a huge explosion shook the ground. El Duro soldiers who had been defending the gate were pulled off to check the breach in the wall. Harley had been well out of harm’s way, Beau had seen to that. And even though she was former Navy, he didn’t intend for her to fight today. She and Jet had set up the bomb, detonated it and then she’d sought shelter. But Beau walked through the wall blasting. Hawke was with him, and when Beau gave the signal, he shot flash grenades onto the grounds which created more distractions, causing the soldiers near them to be blind and deaf long enough for the Texans to gain ground.

  Jacob watched it all from the air. Mixed emotions were tearing him apart. Death was never acceptable to him. He’d insisted they all be trained in placing
shots which would debilitate and not kill, but he knew that wasn’t going to be possible most of the time. The men who would be shooting at them would be shooting to kill.

  But he’d never been in war like some of these men, he had never looked into the face of someone as he took their life. Frankly, he was worried how everyone would handle it. As they flew over the compound, he could see men lying on the ground, see the flash of the gunfire, the peppery sparkle of bullets leaving the barrels of automatic weapons. He had to remind himself who these people were and what they were here for—Aron.

  “Lord, protect our men.” He prayed none of them would die today. Going in, they knew it was a possibility. They had discussed it. How in the world Jacob would ever repay his friends for this feat, he did not know.

  “Okay, we’re landing,” Tyson barked. Jacob looked around at his brothers. Joseph, Isaac, and Noah. Joining them were Heath and Bowie Travis. All of them had solemn looks on their face. They knew this was it, what they had come for.

  “Let’s do it.” As soon as the helicopter was hovering a few feet off the ground, they began to jump out, bending low and running for the side door. If all was working, Revel was covering them. He had been instructed to enter by the gate and make his way to the east side of the hacienda to be ready for the helicopter to land.

  Pop, pop, pop. Screams and shouts filled the air. The smell of gunpowder and burning flesh seared his nostrils. “Hurry, hurry,” he called. All six of them raced to the door as they heard the helicopter lift off. Tyson would take it out of the compound, Jacob hadn’t wanted him to be a sitting duck. His orders were to return when given the signal. Just as expected, there were sentries at the door. Heath didn’t even hesitate. “Saludos, Muchacho.” They fired at him and he fired back, clearing the way.

  “Your Spanish accent is terrible,” Isaac told him.

  “Sorry.” Heath laughed. “I’ll try to do better next time.” They entered the mansion, stopping to fight when they had to.

  “Wonder where the big dogs are?” Joseph asked. “I’d like to get a pot shot at the leaders, myself.”

  “Hiding, I’m sure,” Noah remarked. “Those types usually stay out of the heat.”

  “Not this time, gringo.” A voice brought them all to a stand still. Jacob turned around to see a rotund man standing with a gun to Isaac’s head.

  “Let him go.”

  The man laughed. “Oh, sure. You come into my home, kill my people and ask me to let this man go. Why would you think I’d be so accommodating?”

  “You’re Esteban Rodrigo.” Jacob sneered.

  “Indeed, I am.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sir. We thank you for your kind hospitality.” Behind Esteban, Revel came, holding a gun to the Mexican’s head. A struggle broke out. Two more armed El Duro soldiers came barreling into the room and shots were fired.

  A muffled groan sent chills down Jacob’s spine. One of them was hit. When the gunfire stopped, it was Revel Lee on the floor. “Check him,” he instructed Noah.

  Noah was instantly on his knees, looking at the man who had come to ask him about Harper. “Where are you hit?”

  “My thigh. If it didn’t get my femoral artery, I’ll live.” He winced as Noah examined his wound.

  “Damn, there’s a lot of blood, but I think we can staunch it.”

  “Here try this.” Joseph handed him a towel. “I found this in the bathroom over there.”

  “Hold this here.” He motioned to Heath. “Stay with him, we’ll be right back.” Noah rose. “Just as soon as we get Aron.”

  “Bowie, guard them.” Jacob pointed. “We can’t leave these two unattended.”

  This wasn’t the plan, but they’d have to improvise. Leaving the three of them behind, the brothers made their way deeper into the maze of halls and rooms. They went downstairs, distant cries and reports of automatic weapons still sounded from outside. “This is too easy,” Joseph drawled.

  “Yea, that’s what I was thinking,” Isaac whispered.

  “It should be, right about...here.” Noah rounded a corner and saw a steel door. “What have we got that can open this?”

  “A little C-4.” Isaac smiled.

  “Do you know how to use that?”

  “Hey, I practiced.” They stood back while he put a small block of C-4 on the lock and set it off with a blaster cap. Turning their backs, they prayed the explosion would open the door.

  Bam! It did. But when the smoke cleared and they saw what was in the room, their blood ran cold. Their brother hung limp, his arms over his head, his body bloody and striped. And standing next to him with a gun pointed at his heart was Martina Delgado. “You can’t have him,” she spoke calmly. “He’s mine.”

  “You bitch,” Joseph ground out the words. “Is that how you treat something that belongs to you?” The sight reminded him of abused animals, their sick owners using them for sport, just to see how much pain they could take.

  “He didn’t cooperate.”

  “It’s over, Miss Delgado.” Noah was afraid to move. She was cornered, and desperate animals were deadly.

  Jacob whispered, “Let me.” He moved a slight step forward. “We’ve sent enough information to the District Attorney to close you down forever. You’ll never see the light of day again.”

  She bristled. ‘Swear to God’, Isaac thought, she bristled. Taking one step toward them, she moved the barrel of her gun from Aron and aimed right at Jacob and pulled the trigger.

  “No!” Aron yelled and in the same split second, he bucked forward, hitting her in the back and causing her to stumble. And when she did, the gun went up and she went down and Joseph and Isaac were on her, subduing her before she could pick up the gun.

  “Aron.” Noah walked up to his brother. “My God, what have they done to you?”

  Aron lifted his head, his eyes all but swollen shut. Dried blood was crusted on dozens of welts which covered his head, neck and chest. “Are you my family?”

  “Hell yeah!” Isaac answered. “Do you think we’d be risking our asses for you if we weren’t?” The tenseness of the situation lessened as Joseph and Noah let out a small chuckle.

  “Get him down. We’ve got to get out of here.” Jacob had subdued Martina and put her in cuffs, attaching them to the table. “She’s not going anywhere.” A tirade of Spanish erupted from her mouth. She was cursing them, Aron, God and anybody else she could think of.

  “Look at you.” Joseph helped Aron down. “You look worse than when you did after Oklahoma stomped your ass in the Cotton Bowl.”

  “I don’t remember,” he said weakly. “Do ya’ll see any water? I’m so thirsty.”

  “Hunt him some!” Jacob barked and Joseph took off, returning in a few minutes with a glass. “We’ve got to get out of here. The fighting is still going on outside.”

  “How did you do this?” Aron asked, leaning on Noah.

  “We’ll explain everything. I promise.”

  “I want to go home.” His voice was weak, but his meaning was clear.

  “That’s what we came for, to take you home.” The brothers looked at one another, smiled and got the hell out of Dodge.

  ***

  On the way home

  Getting out wasn’t quite as easy as getting in. They managed to get Aron and Revel on the copter, but Revel was weak from blood loss. Jacob communicated with Kyle and Beau, telling them to retreat when they could, they had achieved their objective. “Tell me our status,” he asked Roscoe.

  “We’re pulling out. We’ll be back at the airport and in the air in a little over an hour. I can hear sirens now, I think the government is going to take advantage of our skirmish and finish the job. I’m telling Tyson to head out now. I want you all to head to Douglas, Arizona, it’s just over the border and we can get Revel and Aron emergency treatment there.”

  “How are you holding up, buddy?” Noah bent down by Revel.

  “I’ve had worse,” he ground out, but his face was grey.

  “Just hold on, we’
re only fifty miles away, won’t take us but minutes.”

  The whirr of the blades was a comforting background noise as Jacob knelt down by Aron. “You do know we never gave up on you, right?”

  Aron looked into a face very similar to his own, eyes the same color as his looked back at him. “I hoped.” He smiled weakly. “What’s your name?”

  “Jacob, I’m the second oldest, you’re the fossil.” He laughed. “The retarded looking one is Joseph and hard-head over there is Noah. That’s Isaac,” he pointed at his brother who was tending to Revel, “you have to remember all the trouble he gave you.”

  “I will remember.”

  “Yes, you will,” Jacob agreed. “Our wounded warrior is a good friend, Revel Jones, and Tyson Pate is flying this bird. You played ball with him at UT.”

  “There’s five of us? Anymore?”

  “Well, Nathan’s at home, he’s thirteen.”

  “Who named us, a preacher? We’ve all got old testament Bible names.” Aron coughed.

  Noah was worried. “How long since you ate?”

  “I don’t know,” Aron confessed. He hurt all over. “Tell me more.”

  “Well, of course, there’s Libby.” Isaac said the name and they all looked at Aron. If anything could shake his memory, it would be Libby.

  “Is she my wife?” He said the words reverently, with hope.

  “Yes, she is.” Jacob smiled. “And just as soon as we get on the plane toward home, I’ll show you a picture of your lovely bride.”

  When they landed in Douglas, an ambulance escorted them to the hospital where Revel was admitted. He would have to have surgery to remove the bullet. Aron was examined and released, he was dehydrated and malnourished, but there was no internal damage. Tyson conferred with the others by phone and verified they were all stateside and doing well. Jacob took the time to talk to each one individually and thank them. Arrangements were made to get together as soon after Christmas as everyone could manage. Patrick would be coming to escort Revel back to Lafayette, but in the meantime, Noah sat by his bedside and asked, “Is there anyone I can call. Harper, perhaps?”