The door opened. Colonel Burnside and Joe Shannon walked in. Silence enveloped the room as Joe took a place along the wall beside Walt. Colonel Burnside walked to the front of the room.
He clicked a remote in his right hand and Fox appeared on the screen in the lower left corner. “Fox, can you see and hear us?”
“Perfectly, Colonel.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the most serious missions our team has had to face. I know some of you saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe that this has the potential to be just as dangerous. To get the introductions out of the way, you have all probably met Walt Frazier at one time or another. Beside him is Joe Shannon, the Tarrant County District Attorney. Next to him, the man with the cane, is Jack Bryant, the special prosecutor who has been coordinating various law enforcement agencies. Jack is a lawyer in Fort Worth. You may remember the Dead Peasants killer a few years back. Jack’s investigation is what broke that case.”
Several of the people in the room looked at Jack with new respect.
“Jack doesn’t jump out of planes any more, but in his younger days he was in the 101st Airborne. The reason for that cane is an injury in Desert Storm. Now, I’m going to turn the briefing over to Captain McCombs.”
Pat McCombs was a Ranger Captain and leader of the DPS SWAT team. Five feet, ten inches tall, a lean and wiry man with a bushy red moustache and a red flattop, cut so close that his head sunburned in the Texas summers. His manner commanded respect.
“Thank you, Colonel. Our mission is to capture this woman, Miriam Van Zandt.”
The photos of Miriam Van Zandt that they had assembled appeared on the large screen. They showed her with black hair, as a redhead, and they had photo shopped her image with hair of various colors and lengths.
“She is a petite woman, just a little over five feet tall. Her size should not fool you. She is a deadly killer, skilled with almost any weapon and could give any of us a real fight in hand to hand combat. You all know about the incident up in Fort Worth a few weeks ago. She killed Edward Hale, almost killed Governor Lardner and wounded a man named Kevin O’Connell before she escaped. Hal Travis, the governor’s limo driver, managed to shoot her in the leg. She still was able to scale this eight foot wall and disappear into the night.”
Images of the mansion patio and the wall appeared on the screen.
“Captain, if it’s just one woman, why will it take our entire team?”
“I’m getting there, Wally. Well, we can do it now. Thanks to the combined efforts of Tarrant County, Fort Worth P.D., Westover Hills P.D and the DPS, we tracked her, primarily through surveillance cameras. Twenty years ago she would have just disappeared, but not anymore. Once we finally got a good photo, we involved the FBI and their facial recognition software identified her. When we figured out who she was, we knew where she was most likely to be.”
An image from the drone appeared on the screen, showing the compound. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is the home of The Alamo Defenders, a separatist militia group in Loving County.”
“Hell, Captain, I’ve been around there, nothing but sand, sage and cactus.”
“Exactly why these people are in that county. They want to be left alone, and usually are. The DPS learned about them ten, maybe fifteen years ago. We opened a file on the group. We’ve been doing spot checks several times a year, watching the comings and goings. When we see a new face, we identify it and start a sub-file on that individual. Fox, can you give us a shot of the front of the compound?”
The screen filled with the gate and barbed wire.
“You can see from the sign they don’t like strangers. Now, Fox, how about the shooting range.”
“Wow, Captain, can we upgrade ours to one like that?”
“In your dreams, Ralph. We have checked the compound over the years and know that Miriam spends more time there than probably anyone else. One thing that may work to our advantage is the oil boom in the Permian Basin. Most of the men have gotten some high-paying jobs working on the rigs, driving trucks and so forth. They haven’t been spending as much time on the range. Fox, put up all of the trailers.”
“Here’s the living area.” McCombs used a laser pointer. “This is the town hall, used for meetings and as a school house. Note the various antennas on the roof. They have very sophisticated electronic communications. The double-wide to the right of the town hall is Richard Van Zandt’s. He’s the head honcho and appointed himself colonel of the militia. A little beyond his trailer over by the river is Miriam’s. As you can see, there are about twenty trailers scattered around. We figure there are about 35 adults and a few kids, living there. Fox, zoom in on Miriam’s trailer.”
The camera showed a single wide with the white pickup beside it. “This is where she lives. That’s her pickup. We were able to identify it on some footage in Fort Worth at the time of the attack. Beyond her trailer is the Pecos River. Not much water in it this time of year, but it’s a potential avenue of approach.” He pointed the laser. “This bluff is on the west side of the river. The top of it is about twenty feet above the compound. We can set up a sniper and camera here about midway down the side of compound. Then we can have one more on either end. They can approach from the west through the desert from U.S. 285 without being seen.”
“What’s the make-up of the team, Captain?” Wally asked.
“Six snipers alternating shifts, six on the helicopter to fast rope into the compound, eight, plus a driver and me in the APC.”
Jack knew that APC stood for armored personnel carrier. It was a vehicle that held eight members of the team and a machine gunner who would man the turret mounted weapon on top. Its steel armor could withstand anything up to fifty caliber gunfire.
“I had the supply trailer double-checked this morning. Other than your sidearms, all of your weapons are on board, along with the usual grenades. The medical cabinet is fully stocked. Sleeping bags are stored along with meals for a week. I can tell you right now that there’s no way we’re going to take a week. The APC and trailer will be loaded into the eighteen wheeler this afternoon.”
“We’ll take the team’s RV for a command post. Jack and Walt will be there. They started this and are entitled to see the end. Colonel Burnside, you coming along?”
“Wouldn’t miss it, but I’ll fly in one of the DPS planes.”
“Before I tell you where we’re meeting tomorrow, this is the most important thing I’m going to say. It has the potential to become another Waco. Hear this and heed my warning. It will not be another Waco. We are going after this woman and we are going to take other lives only if absolutely necessary. If we can walk away from there with her, either dead or alive, and everyone else lives, that’s what we want. I’ll outline my plan tomorrow night.”
Jack raised his hand. “Captain, it’s very important that we do everything possible to take her alive.”
“Understood, Mr. Bryant. We’ll do our best. Colonel Burnside has contacted the Midland Police Chief. He’s arranged for us to use an empty hangar at the Midland airport for our staging area. It’s about an hour and a half from the compound. Tomorrow evening I’ll brief you in more detail from there.”
“The ground team is leaving from here at 0500. You flyboys can sleep a little later. Be at the helipad at 0900. Any questions?”
“Not a question, Captain, just a comment,” Carol Klein, the ground team leader, said. “You’re telling us we’re going to assault a compound with thirty or so men, armed and ready to die. Your goal may be to walk away with no other lives lost. I’m telling you that is not going to happen. Mark my words.”
Several others nodded their agreement.
32
By seven in the evening most of the men had returned to the compound. They knew that something was up when they saw the front gate open and Luke Marak’s pickup parked beside the road. He told each of them that the colonel wanted a meeting at eight o’clock at the town hall. A few grumbled that they had worked twelve hour shifts and
just wanted a beer, some food and a bed. Still, they all showed up.
The men and women drifted into the town hall close to eight o’clock and took seats on folding chairs. They hardly looked like a fighting force. They wore jeans and work boots. Their shirts were streaked with dirt and grease. Most hadn’t shaved in days. Nearly all had something alcoholic in their hand. The women at least had clean clothes and sneakers. Two held infants in their arms. The other children were old enough to remain in their trailers, occupied by video games.
Colonel Van Zandt rose from a chair that faced the group. Miriam sat beside him. “If you all will shut up, I’ve got some talking to do.”
He spit tobacco juice into a paper cup while he waited for silence. “Most of you know that Miriam went out on a mission a couple of weeks ago. Took a bullet in her leg that got infected. She’s still limping some, but has put away her cane. Yesterday Sheriff Davis tried to serve a warrant on her. Seems she’s wanted for murder and attempted murder in Tarrant County. I tore it up and told him to get the hell off our property. I’ve been thinking about it for a day now and talking with Miriam and a couple of you guys. We haven’t seen the last of it.”
“Colonel, I hear she shot the governor and killed some billionaire. Seems like someone didn’t think this through very well. Not at all surprising to me that they are coming for her,” Sam Carr said from the front row.
Miriam stood to defend herself. “Wasn’t supposed to come down this way. I’ve done enough of these that I know what I’m doing. Yeah, I took a bullet, but that ain’t what caused the problem. I got caught on surveillance cameras. That’s not unexpected, only, somehow, they tracked me down to here. I didn’t leave fingerprints. I changed out the license on my truck. Took every precaution and those sons of bitches still tracked me. We all know that the government is watching these days. Must have had a satellite or something that picked me up between Fort Worth and here. Doesn’t really matter now how it happened. We knew it was going to come to this sooner or later.”
“I figure we have a couple of days,” Van Zandt interrupted. “That means we have a lot to do. You’ve got tomorrow morning to buy any personal supplies in Pecos. We have to plan for a month long siege. I figure that if we can stall them long enough, they may start compromising. At noon tomorrow we’re locking this place down. No one gets in or out.”
“Wait a damn minute, Richard,” Carr rose as he spoke. “Nearly all of us are working in the oil patch now. Hell, I’m making near a hundred grand a year. Why invite a confrontation? Here’s an alternative. Call your friend, Jose. Have him fly that plane over the border and pick up Miriam. He can take her back to Mexico until things cool off. Hell, we can then just invite anyone that shows up to search the property. When they know she’s not here, they’ll leave. A month or two from now, she can come back.”
Van Zandt was turning red because someone was challenging his decision. “Shit, Carr, we can’t have cops wandering around in here even if we sent Miriam to drink margaritas on the beach in Cabo. You know how many illegal weapons we have stored in the tunnels. They find those and we all end up in the federal hoosegow. Get a brain.”
Carr returned to his seat, obviously agitated.
“As I was saying, we lock this place down at noon tomorrow. Luke will be assigning our best shooters to man the gun ports at the four corners of the property. It’ll be twelve hour shifts. If you’re working a night shift, don’t forget your damn goggles. The gun ports will be manned, starting at daylight tomorrow. Then, we’ll have a crew to retrieve the weapons and ammo from the tunnel in front of the town hall. We’ll store them in this building along with grenades. Every man will be issued an MP5, Glock 9 mm, body armor, helmet and goggles. And, I almost forgot, six grenades apiece. Only, I don’t want those to be used until I give the command. Any of you women that want to join in defending the Alamo will get the same weapons and equipment. If you choose not to or have to take care of your kids, you’ll go into the tunnels tomorrow afternoon. By mid-day tomorrow, you will all have your weapons and assignments. Just be glad we had the foresight to build those embankments, trenches and tunnels.”
“Colonel, I’ve got a problem.” Zack Gill was one of the newcomers to the compound. “The rig I’m working on is at a critical point. They need me on the job for the next three days.”
Several of the other men nodded their understanding.
Van Zandt walked to him and pulled him out of his chair. “Then, you’ve got a decision. You can defend the Alamo or you can desert your comrades on the eve of battle. Only, you should know what happens to deserters.” He shoved Gill back into his chair stomped back to the front.
After the meeting ended, four men met in a trailer where they popped open beer cans and sat in silence around the kitchen table. “I don’t like this one damn bit. It’s kind of fun to play soldier and fire all these weapons. I know Van Zandt is all the time talking about this kind of showdown, but I didn’t really think it would ever come,” the one they called Red said.
“I’m with you,” the man across the table joined. “Hell, I’d say we just drive out of here right now, only Van Zandt would have us stopped at the gate and shot as deserters. What do you suggest?”
“I’d say we play along and wait for an opportunity. We know there are others that feel like we do. Who needs another beer?”
33
The gray eighteen wheeler with no identification was followed by two black Suburbans, windows tinted and filled with SWAT team members. Jack and Walt rode in the RV, driven by Pat McCombs that brought up the rear. The convoy turned into the Midland airport and was escorted to a far back area where a hangar was open with the helicopter just outside the door. It was one in the afternoon.
Once the convoy was inside, the hangar door was shut and the vehicles emptied.
“Glad to be inside with the doors shut,” Jack said has he rubbed his hands. “Winter is already hitting West Texas.”
“Now that we have the doors closed, the heaters will start making it a little more comfortable,” Captain McCombs replied.
McCombs then turned to supervise the placement of the ramp at the back of the eighteen wheeler and the unloading of the APC and supply trailer. Once he was satisfied, the team stood in line behind the trailer to get their weapons. Some were assigned sniper rifles, some retrieved their sub-machine guns, usually MP510s, and all had semi-automatic pistols. Next they were given grenades…explosive, tear gas, and flash-bang. They had carried their form fitting Kevlar body armor in their packs. Each of them grabbed a sleeping bag and found a place near the back of the trailer where they sat on the floor and began checking their weapons.
“Gentlemen and ladies, we’re going to wait for Colonel Burnside before we do our last briefing.” He nodded toward a door in the back. “I’ve arranged to use that room. It’s got a projector and I brought my computer. While we wait, there are MREs in the trailer. I’m sure you will be impressed by the wide variety of nourishing and delicious food they contain.”
“Come on, Pat,” Al Pearson said. “We’re still in civilization. I’m sure Dominos delivers here. I’ll even put all the pizzas on my credit card.”
McCombs smiled. “That would suit me just fine, only this is a covert operation. No one is supposed to know we’re here. And that includes the Dominos delivery guy.”
Jack and Walt waited in line for an MRE, chose one and grabbed a bottle of water. While they could have slept in the RV, they had already decided to join the rest of the team with sleeping bags on the hangar floor where they returned with their meal.
“Any thoughts, Jack?” Walt asked.
“Just one for now. I’m a little disappointed that I can’t be a part of the assault team. I know I’m old and have a bum knee. Still, I’d like to be part of the action.”
“I know what you mean.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Maybe if I could complete a successful mission I could get this monkey off my back.”
Jack nodded his understanding
Walt continued. “We’ll be in the command post a couple of miles away but I understand that the APC has cameras mounted and the snipers these days use cameras that will feed to an iPad for each sniper and back to screens inside the command post. We won’t be there, but we can see some of the action.”
“So, you’re saying that the snipers don’t even have to show their heads once the cameras are in place?”
“Right, as Pat said, we’ll have three on the bluff above the river. They place their cameras and drop down below the bluff and watch the iPads. They can even toggle the cameras to rotate.”
The sound of a small plane taxiing up to the hangar interrupted. A couple of minutes later Colonel Burnside came through the door. Captain McCombs had been sitting among the team, talking quietly. He rose to greet Burnside. After they conferred, he turned. “As soon as you have finished lunch, head on back to the conference room. We’ll get started as soon as everyone is ready.”
When the team was assembled, McCombs turned on his computer and the projector that showed the image on a white wall.
“Fox reports that there has been activity in the compound for the past two days. It appears that they’re getting ready for a fight. Again, here’s the location of the compound. At 0400 we leave. We’re taking I 20 to Pecos and then U.S. 285 north to where it intersects with State Highway 302. That’s about two miles from the compound. The RV will be set up there. We’ll also drop the snipers at that point. They can hike across the desert to the river. When you snipers see a bluff rising from the desert, you’ll know the river is behind it and the compound is on the other side. We’ll switch out the snipers every twelve hours. Make sure you have plenty of water. Also, remember that it’s November and the desert is cold at night.”
Dark Money Page 15
