“What about the rest of us, Pat?”
“We’re driving the APC up to the gate like we were the owners. We’ll park there. I’ll engage Van Zandt by cell or by bullhorn, if necessary. We may give them some options and wait them out a couple of days before we move in. The fast rope team can stay here until we need you. I’ll brief you when the time comes. Any questions? 0400 then.”
The hangar lights came on at 0300. The members of the team had laid out their camos, boots, helmets, belts, vests and weapons the night before. After stretching, they pulled on their gear. The fact that men and women were dressing side by side bothered no one. They took turns using the two restrooms by the conference room with some of them brushing their teeth for what might be the last time in several days. They grabbed MREs and bottled water and downed the meal with a sense of urgency. Next they rolled their sleeping bags and placed them along with their packs in the trailer, not knowing when they would be able to use either, They were trained to take cat naps when they could, even when standing if necessary. The fast rope team also arose and did the same, only they didn’t store their packs and sleeping bags in the trailer. They would remain in the hangar to be retrieved after the mission. Still, they had to be prepared to go with a phone call from McCombs. They retrieved MREs and bottles of water for several days and stood as the others left.
The hangar doors opened. The APC drove out with eight team members, a driver/machine gunner and Captain McCombs in the passenger seat. Jack, Walt, Colonel Burnside, the six snipers and a driver followed in the RV that pulled the supply trailer. They followed I 20 through Odessa, a city similar in size to Midland and also experiencing an oil boom. Once through Odessa they were soon in the rolling sand hills. Jack remembered reading that, technically, they were not in a desert, but only an ecologist would know the difference. They arrived in Pecos and stopped in the Walmart parking lot to make sure that everyone was still ready to go. They turned onto US 285. It was dark and remained so when they got to 302 where they dropped three of the snipers. They would take the day shift while the other three would relieve them at dark. Once they were gone, the RV pulled off the road where it became the command post. The driver moved to a control station and flipped switches. The screens that lined the walls illuminated. Images would start appearing as the snipers and APC got to their stations. One screen already showed the view from the drone. The APC moved slowly along the few miles to the Pecos and then across it. At the entrance to the compound the APC turned and parked, lights off.
They waited.
When daylight peeked over the dunes in the east and they could barely make out the Alamo façade and gun range ahead of them, McCombs picked up his satellite phone and punched in the number of Richard Van Zandt.
“You’re here, are you,” Van Zandt said, not a question, but a statement.
McCombs had already decided to refer to him by his adopted military title. “Colonel, this is Ranger Captain Pat McCombs. We’re parked at your front gate.”
“You think I don’t know that? We’ve got cameras, too. I saw your headlights when you turned in about an hour ago. Best thing you can do now is to turn around and go back to wherever you came from; only, I guess that’s not in your plans.”
“No, sir. It is not. I know Miriam is your daughter, but she’s wanted for murder.”
“Dammit, I told Jim Bill that she ain’t here. Last I heard, she was somewhere over in Mexico, probably sunning on the beach.”
“Colonel, I don’t mean any disrespect, but we spotted her just yesterday.”
“Shit, you got one of those damn drones? I’ve been hearing about them. Guess I’ll have to go buy us a couple.”
McCombs decided to keep the conversation going. “Yeah, it’s amazing what they can do. May not be too many years before fighter pilots will be out of a job. We’ll just have some kid barely old enough to shave, staring at a screen and releasing bombs from five thousand miles away.”
“You planning to do that here?”
“Absolutely not. Colonel, you must understand that we’re not leaving. We’re prepared to sit right here for weeks, months if necessary. I know that you have supplies in those tunnels, but we’ll outlast you.”
Van Zandt paced inside the town hall. He had McCombs on a speaker so Miriam and Luke could hear. “How’d you know about our tunnels?”
“Colonel, we’ve been watching you for years, even before drones started flying. I can give you name, rank and social security number of everyone in the compound. We’re not starting anything, at least not yet. I’m going to disconnect now. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll check back in about mid-afternoon.”
“Pat, I’ve been looking through a scope and see two gun ports at each end of the embankment. There may be two more on the opposite side. I don’t see any guns for now, but I think we have to assume they’re manned,” Carol Klein said.
“Yeah, and there are probably some shooters behind that Alamo façade. Fox, what do you see?”
“Gun ports at each corner of the property, each manned. Behind that façade are four men armed with what look to be AK 47s. I see another dozen or so in the trenches at various places around the property. Most appear to be sitting, waiting for instructions.”
“Sniper One, report,” Pat commanded. Sniper one was at the corner of the property closest to the road.
“Captain, I’m set up here. I’ve got the camera in place and feeding back to the command post. I can see the gun port closest to me. The guy in it sticks up his head every twenty minutes or so. I can also see the port to your right. Same activity.”
“Two?” McCombs asked.
“Nothing from here, Captain. There’s no movement in the compound. I can see the four guys that Fox described behind the façade. They’re sitting, smoking and talking.”
“Three?”
“I’m like One. I see the guy below me and the one across at the other corner. They seem to have been ordered to check things out about every twenty minutes.”
Pat clicked off his mic and spoke to the team in the back. “Okay, we’re just going to sit for a few hours. Time is on our side. Anyone needs to take a leak, step out the back. Looks like you’ll be safe with the doors shielding you. That goes for you, too, Carol.”
Carol smiled at Pat. “Thanks a lot, Captain. Glad I can be one of the boys.”
Miriam’s hair was once again black. She sat in the town hall, drinking coffee with her father and Luke. “Look, Pa. I’m the cause of this. No one needs to be killed because of me.”
Van Zandt shook his head. “Won’t hear of it. We promised to defend each other. We don’t back down on promises.”
“I agree,” Luke added.
“Look, I can drop my guns and walk to the front gate. We won’t risk the lives of anyone else. We need to be thinking about the children and other women.”
Van Zandt rose to face his daughter. “You killed one of the most powerful men in the country and came close to killing the governor. There will be no plea bargain. You’ll be headed for the death chamber.”
Miriam stood to face her father. “I’m going to obey you for now, but I’m still not ruling it out as a possibility.” Determination was in her voice.
“Colonel, I’m going to go through the tunnel to the Alamo and get a better look at what they’ve got.” Luke looked out the windows and cracked open the door. Seeing nothing, he hurried down the steps and disappeared into the compound’s main tunnel a few feet away. The entrance had been covered with a heavy sheet of metal until two days before. Wooden steps led down to the floor of the tunnel. It was the largest in the compound. High enough for a six foot man and about the same width across. A string of lights ran the length of the ceiling. Along the wall to the left were shelves, filled with canned goods, MREs and water. Past the shelves were small, two foot wide bunks on hinges. Farther back were camping toilets. The bunks could be raised when not in use. Now five women and six children sat on them. Two of the children were whimpering.
&n
bsp; “How long are we going to be down here, Luke?” a short, heavy-set woman with streaks of gray in her hair asked.
“Can’t say. Could be a long time.” He moved past them and continued down the tunnel. When he arrived at the other end, he paused and hollered. “Roy, it’s Luke. Everything clear?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Come on up.”
Luke joined the other men. He peeked around one window in the façade and quickly ducked back again.
“Damn, that’s a helluva vehicle they’ve got parked at our gate. You guys ever seen one like that?”
“I did in the army,” Roy said. “Earlier version, but does about the same thing. A fifty caliber will bounce right off it. It’s got armor plating on the underside, intended to protect it from an IED and grenades. About all we can do is try to figure a way to lure them out into the open.”
Luke sat with his back to the façade and smoked a cigarette. “They say that they’re not going to attack. They’re going to wait us out. That may be a problem. The women and kids have already been in the tunnel for two days. And some of the men are getting antsy about their families and jobs. Waiting long ain’t going to work for us.”
Luke made his way back through the tunnel. When he encountered the women and children, the woman who complained before blocked his way. “Look, I’m claustrophobic.” Her voiced grew louder as she talked. “I can’t stand confined spaces. I need to get out of here.”
“Mary Jean, calm down, dammit. You start talking like this, you’re going to rile up some of the others. Just hang in there for a while.”
Mary Jean turned sideways to let Luke pass. “You just don’t get it,” she hissed. “I’m trying to control myself, only I don’t know how much longer I can.”
As Luke stepped around her, the tunnel went black. The kids and women started screaming. Mary Jean grabbed Luke. “Do something,” she screamed. “Do it now.”
Luke had to shout to make his voice heard above the screams of the women and the wailing of kids. “Everyone calm down. They must have cut the power to the compound. We have a backup generator that will provide electricity to this tunnel and the town hall. It should click on in a few seconds.” He pulled a flashlight from his pocket to provide some light. Thirty seconds later the string of ceiling lights came on, thirty seconds of hell for Mary Jean. She had collapsed on the floor and was sobbing uncontrollably. When the lights came on, she looked up at Luke.
“I warn you. I can’t take it much more. The Colonel needs to figure out a way to stop this. I don’t want to die here.”
Luke pushed past her again and made his way to the entrance and into the building.
“Good job, Colonel Burnside. I can see a light in that building, but nowhere else.”
Burnside chuckled. “Just a matter of knowing the right people. We were able to shut off their electricity without disturbing any neighbor, not that there are a lot of neighbors to disturb.”
“Fox, you see any other lights?” McCombs asked.
“Negative. Of course, it’s daylight. I’ll tell you if I see any more after dark.”
“My guess is that they have a backup generator, probably propane, that will provide electricity for that building, Van Zandt’s trailer and maybe a couple of the tunnels. First step in making life just a little more uncomfortable. Even with a big propane tank, it can’t be good for more than a few days, a week at most.”
Toward sunset McCombs received a call. He glanced at the caller i.d. “Evening, Colonel. How much did you have to pay for your own cell tower? I don’t even have to use my satellite phone.”
“I’m not calling to make chit-chat. You cut off our damn electricity and it’s going to be cold tonight. The trailers need electricity. What do I need to do to get it turned back on?”
“Sorry about that, Colonel. You can surrender your daughter. That’s it. Otherwise I suggest you pass out lots of blankets. Think about my proposal more and we’ll talk in the morning. And remember, so far, no lives have been lost.”
34
Once night fell, Jack discovered that he was not the only person who had armor that could be lowered on an RV. The SWAT team vehicle was even more armored. Steel plates covered the side and back windows and dropped to protect the tires. Now he learned that the metal on the RV was also armor, not quite as heavy as that on the APC, but close. Only the windshield was exposed.
“Pat, we’re coming.”
“Roger that.”
The RV moved slowly along the road in the pitch black of the desert night. When it stopped behind the APC, the interior lights were disengaged. One by one the team left the APC wearing night vision goggles and entered the RV. They made use of the dual facilities at the back and paused for more water and MREs before returning to their vehicle. McCombs was the last to visit the command post. He sat across from Colonel Burnside, Walt and Jack.
“Assessment, Captain?” Colonel Burnside asked.
“So far, so good. Van Zandt doesn’t like being without electricity. We’ll see how they survive the night. My weather report said it’s going to dip into the low twenties. Even if some of them slip back into their trailers, it’s going to be chilly. My team is doing fine. Glad we brought the RV on this one. I don’t think they’re going to start anything. So, we’ll see what dawn brings.”
Dawn brought the unexpected. Mary Jean had shivered under a single blanket throughout the night. She didn’t think she had shut her eyes once. By morning she had come to the end of her rope. She could no longer stay in the tunnel. Van Zandt wasn’t doing a damn thing. Her husband was out there somewhere in one of the trenches. He could take care of himself. He wasn’t claustrophobic. She was. She would take matters into her own hands. When she could barely make out a change in light at the end of the tunnel near the town hall, she made the decision.
Without saying a word to the other tunnel occupants, she rose from her bunk, put on her sneakers and started walking toward the end of the tunnel that opened behind the Alamo façade. When she arrived at the entrance, she marched up the steps and started running toward the front gate, arms over her head.
The men at the façade were barely awake when they saw her rush past. They hollered at her, but were not about to shoot in her direction since the SWAT team was just beyond. When she approached the gate, she paused to catch her breath and walked to it.
Klein had been on watch for the night. She roused McCombs. “Pat, look what’s coming.”
Instantly awake, he looked out the windshield to see a short woman, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He was looking for a bomb vest and concluded that she was wearing none. Further her hands were extended over her head and she was crying.
“I surrender. I can’t take it anymore. Please let me out.”
McCombs looked at Carol. “What do you think?”
“Not a trap. Woman’s had enough.”
Pat studied the situation. “Okay, the gate’s still locked.”
“I got this,” Klein said. “I need two men to position themselves on the platforms on the sides to provide cover fire, if need be. Give me two more to help her climb the gate. I can cut the two top strands of barbed wire. Five minutes.”
Getting the okay from McCombs, two men followed Klein and two stepped to the platforms, ready to respond if necessary. As it turned out, the extraction was uneventful. Klein calmed the woman down and directed her to climb the gate. One of the SWAT team clambered over the gate and dropped inside. He boosted her up. Carol and the other team member helped her down. Once there, they ran back to the APC. When they were safely inside, they gave Mary Jean water and a MRE.
Carol debriefed her, learning where the tunnels went, how many women and children were in the main tunnel and how many men were in the compound. She was disappointed to learn that Mary Jean knew nothing about the weapons, other than they had a bunch. The day wore into evening. Once it became dark, the RV drove to their back and picked up Mary Jean. McCombs ordered two man teams to keep watch for two hour shifts, one on the platfo
rm on either side of the APV. McCombs allowed himself to doze between the shift changes until close to four in the morning.
Four more days went by. In the compound the women and children had to use camping johns in the tunnel in the daytime and could emerge at night to go to their trailers with flashlights to change clothes. They couldn’t bath or use the bathroom since the well pumps ran on electricity, and there was none. Otherwise, Colonel Van Zandt mandated that they stay in the tunnel where the smell worsened by the day. The men dozed off at their posts. Once the sun dropped below the horizon, they wrapped themselves in blankets that barely cut the cold desert night.
Van Zandt’s phone rang. “Yeah, what do you want?”
“Colonel, a front is headed this way tomorrow. Temperature’s going to drop even farther. You need to be thinking about how you’re going to end this.”
Van Zandt spit into his ever-present cup. “You don’t need to worry about us. I’ve got a plan.” He clicked off the phone.
McCombs turned to Carol. “What the hell kind of plan do you think he has?”
“Damned if I know. Why don’t you check with Fox and the snipers.”
Ten minutes later McCombs said, “They haven’t seen anything.”
Miriam returned from the tunnel and confronted her father. “We’re about to have a revolt down there. Kids are crying. We didn’t buy enough diapers. The stench is overwhelming. The women are scared out of their minds. They don’t want to die.”
Van Zandt dropped into a chair. “So, what the hell am I supposed to do? I knew this day was coming. I’m prepared to die. If our deaths spark a new American revolution, it’s worth the sacrifice.”
“Dammit, Pa, not everyone thinks like you. Let’s go back to that idea about the cartel plane. Call Jose and get him over here at four a.m. when even the SWAT team ought to be sleeping. Tell his pilot there will only be two trucks with lights on the runway. He needs to land, pick me up at the end of the runway, turn around and take off again. Once I’m out of here, you call McCombs and invite him in to search the place.”
Dark Money Page 16
