Revenge in the Homeland

by A J Newman

  “John, I need your help.”

  “You know that I will do anything for you.”

  “Don’t be so enthusiastic until you know what I want you to do. We just got information from Corpus Christie on Gus’ family. One grandson and a son-in-law are dead. The rest are in good health. The ongoing issue is that a Cabra officer kidnapped Gus’ middle daughter and lives with her as his wife.”

  “Holy shit! I don’t want to be in the room when you tell Gus. He will explode and kill the messenger.”

  “You are his best friend; I was hoping that you would tell him.”

  “Oh my God! I need a couple of stiff drinks to even think about telling him. He will take the deaths like the man that he is, but the part about his daughter will make him go berserk. I’ll do it, but give me an hour or so to think this over.”

  John took Gus to his house and had Beth send the kids out to play. He sat down with Gus and started telling him the news. Gus took the death of his son-in-law in stride, but tears flowed when he heard about the death of his grandson, who was his daughter Gail and son-in-law Bill’s son. He was very happy when he heard that all of the others were okay and in good health.

  “Gail and her husband Bill and Skip are doing fine. Your other daughter Pat, her husband Tony and their daughters are also doing fine.”

  John looked him in the eyes and said, “Gus stay seated and stay calm. There is some bad news about Angela.”

  Gus replied, “As long as she is alive, I am okay.”

  “Gus, she and her son are okay as I said, but a Cabra officer kidnapped her and has her living with him.”

  At first it didn’t sink in what “living with” meant. Then Gus started cussing at the top of his lungs and yelled out details of what he was going to cut off the guy and ram down his throat.

  “John, I am okay. All of my daughters are alive along with four of my grandkids. I was afraid that all were dead so this is better than I expected. I won’t rest until I kill the bastard abusing my daughter and then I will be okay. Let’s meet with Bob and the Admiral. I have a couple of changes to our strategy for taking Corpus Christie.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like for you to bounce those ideas off me before we go to the Admiral.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. I might have missed a way to torture that rat bastard that you will remember.”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant; I’m trying to keep you from doing something stupid.”

  “Now, how many times have I done something stupid when I set out to kill someone?”

  “When you phrase it that way, never. I am your friend and what I meant is that I don’t want you killed trying to avenge your daughter’s honor.”

  ***

  “Mita, I have to visit the man who supplies the canned goods this afternoon. Do you need anything while I am out?”

  “Lucio, don’t I need to go with you to some of these meetings? Since we met, you have taken my store from a tiny operation to the largest in the area. You get supplies that no one else can get. Even the wives of the Cabras come to me to trade. If something happened to you I would be in deep trouble.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that and of course you are right. Can you get someone that we can trust to help run the store?"

  “Yes, I have been thinking about that and I think Gail Smith would be perfect.”

  “Yes, I know who she is and I trust your judgment. Hire her and start her training. You might want to hire her husband also; we are growing quickly.”

  Later that afternoon Lucio met Teller at their alternate meeting place, which was an abandoned barn. Lucio took several minutes to survey the surroundings before approaching the barn from the backside. He saw someone standing in a shadow and pulled out his binoculars to make sure that it was Teller.

  Teller saw him and said, “Lucio it is good to see you again. Come on in the barn. I have bad news. You might want to sit down.”

  “You are going to tell me that my family is dead. I had a dream about it.”

  “No, they are alive; however, your wife has proclaimed that you are dead and remarried.”

  “Teller, that’s not bad news. The bitch was cheating on me every time I left town. I was going to divorce her when shit settles down. Hell, I’m convinced the kids aren’t even mine.”

  “Does that mean a more serious relationship with Mita?”

  “Yes, I love her more than anything and have to get her out of here quickly.”

  “Well then Lucio, I have some good news. We have people coming in to get Gus’ family out very soon. Can y’all be ready to leave with them?”

  “I guess that we will have to be ready. Will you contact me again before the rescue?”

  “Not in person. We will call you on the satellite phone a few hours before the team arrives. I wouldn’t say a lot to Mita or the boy.”

  “No, I won’t say anything until we are about to leave. I brought a couple of ammo cans with me and I want you to take them and store them with the others.”

  “Lucio, you are getting to be a very rich man.”

  “I am rich because I have Mita. Gold and silver don’t mean much to me.”

  “Well you certainly have smuggled quite a bit of it to me and it is stored back at the compound.”

  “That’s my retirement plan.”

  ✼✼✼✼✼✼

  ✼

  Chapter 11

  Thicker than Blood

  Corpus Christie, Texas

  August, 2021

  “Gus, I can’t tell you not to go to Corpus Christie, but I won’t help you kill yourself either. There has to be a compromise that gets your family back home safely and satisfies your quest for vengeance. While no one is irreplaceable, you are important to the ISA and I count you as a friend. Let us help you with this mission and keep you safe also.”

  Gus was red in the face and was about to speak when John cut him off, “Gus, shut up and listen before you go off on a tirade. I will promise you that we will bring back the Cabra that has enslaved your daughter so that you can deal with him yourself. You shot the woman that killed Robin and you can shoot this guy. Will that make you happy?”

  Gus calmed down and they could tell that he was trying to regain his composure.

  He counted to twenty and said, “I am calm. As long as you deliver him to me and leave us alone for a day or so I will be alright.”

  The Admiral said, “Gus, you are a God-fearing Christian and I really don’t believe you could torture this man and live with yourself. I have no problem shooting the bastard and blowing his brains out, but torture just to make you feel better is not what you or the ISA is all about.”

  “Admiral, give me a day or two to calm down and I will just shoot the SOB. I want to travel to Corpus Christie with the Seals so I can bring my family back home.”

  John spoke up, “I am fine with that as long as I send a team to guard you. You are the Secretary of Defense for the ISA and not the old Gus who can do as he pleases.”

  “Okay, but tell your damn babysitters not to hover too damn close to me.”

  “Will do Gus.”

  ***

  “Dad, please don’t make me do this. Trying to keep Gus out of trouble will be almost impossible. He is going to say what you want to hear and then go down there and march right into that town and rip that Cabra’s throat out in front of hundreds of his friends. Then you want us to keep him safe and get him home without a scratch.”

  “Scott, that about sums it up. You know Gus pretty well don’t you? That’s why I want your team to split up with one team guarding Gus and another going in a day before the Seal team rescues Gus’ family, grab that SOB Cabra and take him to Gus. Your team’s mission is to keep Gus from going into Corpus Christie by delivering the Cabra to him before he gets there.”

  “Oh, I like that much better, only we will need two days. I will lead the team that extracts the Cabra.”

  “Son, you're a big boy. Get yourself back here safe and deliver Gus
back here safe."

  Scott called his team together and told them about their objective. He told them that Maria Sanchez would be going along with his team to act as their interpreter. Maria had joined the team last year and had fought in many battles with John and Scott. She was Hispanic and left the DHS to join them just after TSHTF. They developed a plan to deliver the objective. He told them that Jim would lead the detail guarding Gus while he took a small four man team into extract the Cabra.

  Scott’s girlfriend and fellow teammate, Joan, added, “I think it will be a two women and two men team. I will join you so that we can walk right in under their noses as two couples.”

  Scott replied, “I really like that idea, but Imelda will go with us and you will go with Jim and his team. Imelda speaks fluent Spanish.”

  Joan punched Imelda on the arm, looked at Scott and said, “Fine, just as long as you two don’t get too cozy. Imelda is marrying your best friend.”

  Jim replied, “Just as long as we keep it in the family, I’m okay.”

  The whole team threw whatever they had in their hands at Jim. He was hit by everything from a banana to a book.

  “I was just kidding", Jim said as he rubbed his head after the book hit him.

  Scott waved to quiet the team and said, “Let’s get serious and get our plan of action complete. My team pulls out tomorrow. Dad has already put it out that we are performing some recon on the north side of Corpus Christie so no one should be suspicious.”

  Scott and Joan were having dinner at Beth and his Dad’s apartment and during dinner Beth said, “So Scott, you got the job of keeping Gus out of trouble?”

  “Yes ma'am. I didn’t get much say in the matter, did I, Dad?”

  “No you didn’t, but the good news is that I will owe you. I hate to think what I’ll have to do to repay you.”

  Joan suddenly looked up and said, “John, I know how you can repay him.”

  All eyes turned towards Joan and they waited to see what would be asked by this normally shy young lady.

  “Scott needs a much larger apartment. His soon to be wife and children would appreciate it greatly.”

  Beth jumped up and asked, “Are you pregnant? I want to be a grandma. The baby can play with Jenn.”

  “Oh no, not yet, but I want to as soon as he marries me. I can’t seem to get him to the altar.”

  Beth smiled at Joan and said, “Cut the milk off and he might want to buy the cow. That free milk is ruining your wedding plans.”

  Kristie said, “That’s too much information, I’m gone.”

  Randy and Kristie excused themselves and went to the living room.

  Scott turned red and tried to say something, but kept stammering.

  Beth spoke up, “Son, I’ll bet that you are afraid of getting married and having children because the world is so messed up. We all know that you love Joan and hell, she stays most nights at your place. There never is a good time to have children. Sometimes they just happen and you make the best of it for them and for yourselves. Look at Jenn, we didn’t plan on her when we were out in the Idaho woods.”

  “I know that y’all are right. Joan, let’s get married when we get back from Corpus Christie.”

  He got down on his knees and proposed to her. He pulled out a big diamond ring and placed it on her finger.

  “Joan, will you marry me?”

  “Yes! Yes!”

  Scott and Joan left about an hour later and John helped Beth clean up the table and the kitchen.

  “Well Beth, how do I give my son a nice apartment without pissing off all the other good people living at this compound?

  “You’ll find a way. Scott is a hero just like his Dad, to these people. It just dawned on me that this compound will hold over 5,000 people. Have Gus open up the South wing and everyone can have more room.”

  “Damn, why didn’t I think about that?”

  “Because you men only think about two things, sex and fighting.”

  John slipped behind her and whispered in her ear, “Let’s fight.”

  She elbowed him in the stomach and said, “That’s all the fighting that you get tonight.

  ***

  Scott’s group was on the helicopter before daylight dressed in civilian clothes. The clothes were all well worn and had stains, but were otherwise clean. The flight was uneventful and they landed just north of Corpus Christie and south of Beeville. Another helicopter had brought an old Ford pickup for them to drive in closer to Corpus Christie after dark. They had maps provided by Lucio and knew exactly where to go to get the Cabra. They drove on side roads until they were five miles out of the city and were able to avoid detection, thanks to a satellite phone hooked into the operators of two drones that were scouting ahead of them. They hid their truck at an abandoned farm and only took a rucksack, a concealed pistol and two extra magazines each. The truck had two SAWS and four M4s in the bed just in case they were needed. For now, they just needed to walk into town as if they belonged there.

  Scott looked at the other three and said, “Maria, you take the rear and I’ll take the point. You two spread out in case we are spotted. I don’t want them to see any more than one of us if we are spotted. Once we get close to their location, I plan to walk right in like we own the place, snatch the Cabra and get the hell out of Dodge as fast as we can.”

  “I have the drugs to make sure that he doesn’t resist. Imelda and I can walk him right out of town and any passerby will think he is drunk. It will slow us down, but will be better than carrying his sorry ass.”

  The Cabra’s house was a mile and a half into town from the northeast. They separated into two couples and tried to travel as quickly as possible without raising any suspicion. It was just after dark and they had covered about a mile when two armed men came out of a house and almost tripped on Maria. The men were drunk, but even in the dark noticed Maria. They ordered Scott and Maria to stop and started asking them questions in Spanish.

  “Scott, they want to know where we are going and if I am your wife. I told them that we are going to my sister’s and we live together.”

  The guy closest to Maria said, “Gringo, hit the road and if I see you again, I’m going to slit your throat. A Latin beauty like this deserves a real man.”

  Maria turned and slapped the man and said, “If you touch me, I’ll cut your balls off in your sleep you drunk asshole.”

  That kept the men’s attention so that Imelda and her partner could slip up behind the drunken Cabras. Each one of them grabbed a Cabra and slit his throat before either could say a word. They dragged the dead men into an alley and hid them in some garbage.

  They covered the next six blocks and found themselves a couple of houses down from the Cabra’s house.

  “The white one with the Humvee in the driveway is the target. The one on the right is where the other two sisters live. It looks like they are awake so let’s hide in the driveway across the street behind those bushes and wait for the lights to go out.”

  They sat down behind the bushes and Maria took first watch on the house. They heard music and what they thought was yelling a couple of times and the lights stayed on.

  Scott said, “There is too much noise coming from the Cabra’s house for this late at night. They are either fighting or having loud sex. Neither one makes our job any easier. Let’s peek through a window. Just as they were sneaking across the street several people ran out of the sister’s house and in the front door of the Cabra’s house. Yelling, screaming and crashing noises were coming out of the front door.

  Scott said, “Let’s go in. This can’t be good.”

  Imelda and her partner broke in the back door and entered the kitchen just as Scott and Maria ran in the front door into the living room. They saw a short red haired woman on top of a man stabbing him with a butcher knife. There were two other women yelling for her to stab him again, while two men were telling everyone to stop yelling. One tried to take the knife away from the redhead and was almost stabbed himself. They
didn’t see the four onlookers.

  Scott grabbed a lamp and threw it on the floor next to the dying man. This got their attention. They saw the four with guns pointed at them and everyone raised their hands to surrender.

  Scott said, “We mean you no harm. Gus, your father sent us here to kill that bastard and we have a team coming to get you. I guess the redhead with the knife is the daughter that takes the most after Gus McCoy.”

  It took a minute for Scott’s joke to sink in, but they started laughing and then the red headed woman started crying.

  The redhead asked, “Scott Harris, is that you?”

  “Yes, Angela, it’s me. Do you think that that SOB is dead enough or do we need to shoot him to boot?”

  “I caught that sick bastard trying to grope my six year old niece. He laughed when I came at him with the knife. The fucker isn’t laughing now. I’m going to cut his balls off and shove them up his ass.”

  She was covered in blood as was the floor and one of the walls.

  “Your dad was only going to ram them down his throat. You are just like your dad.”

  Scott gave a quick introduction and then said, “Y’all made quite a loud ruckus. We had better get out of here now. We have to take the body with us so we need to clean him up and walk him down the street just like he is drunk.”

  Imelda spoke up, “I know that Gus would want to kill him some more, but we need to get his family out of here before the Cabras start looking for him. Y’all made a lot of noise and someone might have reported it to them.”

  Imelda started taking pictures of the dead Cabra, the blood everywhere and Angela.

  “These pictures will have to do. Angela, wash up and change your clothes; we have to vamoose.”

  They divided into several small groups and began the journey to the edge of town where they could take the pickup to the meeting place.